Protective effect of taraxasterol on acute lung injury induced by lipopolysaccharide in mice.

Abstract

Taraxasterol, a pentacyclic-triterpene isolated from Taraxacum officinale, has been reported to have potent anti-inflammatory properties. However, the effect of taraxasterol on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mice acute lung injury has not been investigated. The aims of this study were to investigate whether taraxasterol could ameliorate the inflammation response in LPS-induced acute lung injury and to clarify the possible mechanism. Male BALB/c mice were pretreated with taraxasterol 1h before intranasal instillation of LPS. 7h after LPS administration, the myeloperoxidase (MPO) in lung tissues, lung wet/dry ratio and inflammatory cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were detected. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in the BALF were measured by ELISA. The extent of phosphorylation of IκB-α, p65 NF-κB, p46-p54 JNK, p42-p44 ERK, and p38 were determined by western blotting. The results showed that taraxasterol attenuated the infiltration of inflammatory cells, the activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO), lung wet/dry ratio, and the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, western blotting results showed that taraxasterol inhibited the phosphorylation of IκB-α, p65 NF-κB, p46-p54 JNK, p42-p44 ERK, and p38 caused by LPS. Our data suggest that anti-inflammatory effects of taraxasterol against the LPS-induced ALI may be due to its ability of inhibition of the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways.

• Authors: Zhihao San, Yunhe Fu, Wei Li, Ershun Zhou, Yimeng Li, Xiaojing Song, Tiancheng Wang, Yuan Tian, Zhengkai Wei, Minjun Yao, Yongguo Cao, Naisheng Zhang
• Journal: International immunopharmacology (Int Immunopharmacol) Vol. 19 Issue 2 Pg. 342-50 (Apr 2014) ISSN: 1878-1705 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 24548765 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Anti-Inflammatory Agents
• Cytokines
• Lipopolysaccharides
• NF-kappa B
• Sterols
• Triterpenes
• taraxasterol
• Peroxidase
• Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases

Topics

• Acute Lung Injury (chemically induced, drug therapy, immunology, pathology)
• Animals
• Anti-Inflammatory Agents (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid (cytology, immunology)
• Cell Count
• Cytokines (blood, immunology)
• Endotoxemia (chemically induced, drug therapy, immunology, pathology)
• Lipopolysaccharides
• Lung (immunology, pathology)
• Macrophages (immunology)
• Male
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred BALB C
• Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (antagonists & inhibitors, immunology)
• NF-kappa B (antagonists & inhibitors, immunology)
• Neutrophils (immunology)
• Peroxidase (immunology)
• Sterols (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Triterpenes (pharmacology, therapeutic use)