Introduction: The monoterpene 1,8-Cineol is a natural plant-based therapeutic agent, which combines different anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties and is commonly used as clinically approved drug Soledum® to treat a broad range of chronic and acute airway inflammatory diseases. Monocytes are important to promote inflammatory immune responses and cytokine secretion. Circulating monocytes can be divided into three different subtypes based on their CD14/CD16 surface expression. The influence of 1,8-cineole on the regulation and cellular characteristics of circulating monocytes in patients with otitis media is largely unknown.

Material and methods: Therefore, we used flow cytometry to analyzed a cohort of 14 patients with chronic otitis media. We investigate the impact of 1,8-Cineol on the expression levels of different adhesion molecules, chemokine receptors and the checkpoint molecule PD-L1 and different cell stress related proteins.

Results: Our data revealed significantly increased expression level of all analyzed adhesion molecules in certain monocyte subtypes in patients with chronic otitis media. After treatment with 1,8-cineole the adhesion molecule CX3CR1 was significantly down-regulated. Furthermore, there was a significant decrease of PD-L1 in intermediate monocytes after 1,8-Cineol therapy.

Conclusion: The study helped to better understand the influence of monoterpene 1,8-Cineol on monocyte adhesion, related anti-inflammatory processes and immune regulation.

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