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 language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3155-3164 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Molecules |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 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