Curcumol exhibits anti-inflammatory properties by interfering with the JNK-mediated AP-1 pathway in lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW264.7 cells.

Abstract

Curcumol is one of the major components of the essential oil of Rhizoma Curcumae, a common traditional Chinese medicine with anti-inflammatory properties. However, the anti-inflammatory activity and the underlying molecular mechanisms of this compound remain unclear. In the present study, the anti-inflammation effect of curcumol on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells is demonstrated along with its underlying mechanisms. We show that curcumol inhibits LPS-induced NO production by suppressing iNOS mRNA expression and protein level but not iNOS activity. Moreover, curcumol inhibits LPS-induced production of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 at both the transcriptional and translational levels. Further investigations reveal that these effects mainly act via suppressing JNK-mediated AP-1 rather than the NF-κB pathway; these effects include a decrease in the phosphorylation level of JNK and a direct inhibition of the activity of p-JNK. These data provide scientific molecular evidence that curcumol may be a potential lead compound for a novel anti-inflammatory drug because of its inhibitory activity on the production of various inflammatory mediators.

• Authors: Xi Chen, Chuanjie Zong, Yuan Gao, Runlan Cai, Lei Fang, Juan Lu, Fen Liu, Yun Qi
• Journal: European journal of pharmacology (Eur J Pharmacol) Vol. 723 Pg. 339-45 (Jan 15 2014) ISSN: 1879-0712 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 24269960 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Chemical References

• Anti-Inflammatory Agents
• Cytokines
• Lipopolysaccharides
• RNA, Messenger
• Sesquiterpenes
• Transcription Factor AP-1
• Nitric Oxide
• curcumol
• Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II
• Nos2 protein, mouse
• JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases

Topics

• Animals
• Anti-Inflammatory Agents (pharmacology)
• Cell Line
• Cytokines (metabolism)
• JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (metabolism)
• Lipopolysaccharides
• Mice
• Nitric Oxide (metabolism)
• Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II (genetics, metabolism)
• RNA, Messenger (metabolism)
• Sesquiterpenes (pharmacology)
• Signal Transduction (drug effects)
• Transcription Factor AP-1 (metabolism)