1. In vitro anti-inflammatory effect of picrasmalignan A by the inhibition of iNOS and COX-2 expression in LPS-activated macrophage RAW 264.7 cells.
- Author
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FENG ZHAO, LEI CHEN, CHENCHEN BI, MENGLIN ZHANG, WEIHUA JIAO, and XINSHENG YAO
- Subjects
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GENE expression , *MACROPHAGES , *CHINESE medicine , *DETOXIFICATION (Alternative medicine) , *CELL lines - Abstract
Picrasma quassioides (P. quassioides) has been widely used as a traditional Chinese medicine for clearing fever and detoxification. Previous phytochemical studies have identified a novel dihydrobenzofuran type neolignan, picrasmalignan A, isolated from the stems of P. quassioides. In the present study, the in vitro anti inflammatory effects and molecular mechanisms of picrasmalignan A have been investigated in cultured RAW 264.7 cells, a mouse macrophage like cell line. A Griess assay was used to demonstrate the inhibitory effect of picrasmalignan A on the overproduction of nitric oxide (NO). An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine the levels of pro inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factorα (TNFα) and interleukin 6 (IL 6). The inhibitory effect on the enzymatic activity of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX 2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was observed by colorimetric and fluorimetric assays, respectively. Western blotting was conducted to detect the expression of iNOS and COX 2. Results showed that picrasmalignan A suppressed lipopolysaccharide stimulated NO production and pro inflammatory cytokine secretion, including TNFα and IL 6, in a dose dependent manner. It also significantly inhibited the expression and enzymatic activity of iNOS and COX 2. These results may demonstrate the anti inflammatory mechanism of picrasmalignan A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2013
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