[The effects of lipopolysaccharide and anti-inflammatory drugs on nuclear factor-kappa B in pulmonary intravascular macrophage].

Objective: To investigate activation of nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-kappa B) in pulmonary intravascular macrophage (PIM) stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and effects of anti-inflammatory drugs dexamethasone (DEX) and aspirin (ASA) on the process.
Methods: PIMs isolated from three healthy pigs were cultured and divided into four groups: Control group; LPS- stimulated group; DEX- or ASA-treated group. The NF-kappa B activity of nuclear protein extract from the PIMs and the concentration of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in the supernatant were measured by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and radioimmunoassay (RIA), respectively.
Results: The activity of NF-kappa B significantly increased from 0.5 hr to 4 hr after LPS stimulation (P < 0.01); The level of TNF-alpha in the supernatant elevated markedly from 1 hr to 2 hr after LPS stimulation (P < 0.01); positive correlation was found between the NF-kappa B activity and the TNF-alpha concentration at 1 hr after LPS stimulation (r = 0.991, P < 0.01). Compared with LPS-stimulated group, both NF-kappa B activity and TNF-alpha concentration were significantly lowered in DEX- or ASA-treated groups (P < 0.01).
Conclusions: LPS might activate NF-kappa B in the PIMs, and induce the increase of transcription and expression of TNF-alpha gene; Both DEX and ASA could inhibit the activation of NF-kappa B and reduce the release of TNF-alpha.