The Anti-Inflammatory Effects and Mechanisms of Eupafolin in Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammatory Responses in RAW264.7 Macrophages

PLoS One. 2016 Jul 14;11(7):e0158662. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0158662. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Eupafolin is a flavone isolated from Artemisia princeps Pampanini (family Asteraceae). The aim of this study was to examine the anti-inflammatory effects of eupafolin in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW264.7 macrophages and LPS-induced mouse skin and lung inflammation models and to identify the mechanism underlying these effects. Eupafolin decreased the LPS-induced release of inflammatory mediators (iNOS, COX-2 and NO) and proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α) from the RAW264.7 macrophages. Eupafolin inhibited the LPS-induced phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, ERK1/2, JNK, AKT and p65 and the nuclear translocation of p65 and c-fos. These effects were mainly mediated by the inhibition of JNK. In the mouse paw and lung models, eupafolin effectively suppressed the LPS-induced edema formation and down-regulated iNOS and COX-2 expression. These results demonstrated that eupafolin exhibits anti-inflammatory properties and suggested that eupafolin can be developed as an anti-inflammatory agent.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / pharmacology*
  • Cyclooxygenase 2 / metabolism
  • Flavones / pharmacology*
  • Inflammation / chemically induced
  • Inflammation / metabolism*
  • Interleukin-6 / metabolism
  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • Lung / drug effects
  • Lung / metabolism
  • Macrophages / drug effects*
  • Macrophages / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Nitric Oxide / metabolism
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / metabolism
  • Phosphorylation
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects*
  • Skin / drug effects
  • Skin / metabolism
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / metabolism

Substances

  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents
  • Flavones
  • Interleukin-6
  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
  • Nitric Oxide
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II
  • Cyclooxygenase 2
  • eupafolin

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Science Council (NSC 103-2320-B-002-017).