Inhibitory effect of Astragalus polysaccharides on lipopolysaccharide- induced TNF-α and IL-1β production in THP-1 cells

Xiaojuan He, Jun Shu, Li Xu, Cheng Lu, Aiping LYU*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

104 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Astragalus polysaccharides (APS), one of main bioactive components in Astragalus membranaceus Bunge, has been reported to possess anti-inflammatory activities, but the molecular mechanisms behind this activity are largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate expression of inflammatory cytokines and the MAPK/NF-κB pathway in human THP-1 macrophages induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The results showed that the concentrations of TNF-α and IL-1β released from LPS stimulated THP-1 cells increased significantly compared to control (p < 0.01). After treatment with APS, the TNF-α and IL-1β levels were significantly lower than those in the LPS group (p < 0.05). The mRNA expression of TNF-α and IL-1β were also inhibited. Mechanistic studies indicated that APS strongly suppressed NF-κB activation and down-regulated the phosphorylation of ERK and JNK, which are important signaling pathways involved in the production of TNF-α and IL-1β, demonstrating that APS could suppress the production of TNF-α and IL-1β by LPS stimulated macrophages by inhibiting NF-κB activation and ERK and JNK phosphorylation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3155-3164
Number of pages10
JournalMolecules
Volume17
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2012

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Chemistry (miscellaneous)
  • Molecular Medicine
  • Pharmaceutical Science
  • Drug Discovery
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry

User-Defined Keywords

  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Astragalus polysaccharides
  • Macrophage
  • MAPK
  • NF-κB

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