Pilose antler peptide attenuates LPS-induced inflammatory reaction

The present study was designed to study the effects of pilose antler peptide (PAP) on primary culture of nucleus pulposus cells in intervertebral disc. We demonstrated that PAP significantly inhibited lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induced over-production of inflammatory factors including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in nucleus pulposus cells. PAP also attenuated increase of malondialdehyde (MDA) and decrease of superoxide dismutase (SOD) induced by LPS challenge in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, the expression of the protein levels of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/nuclear transcription factor-κB(NF-κB) were increased accompanying with the LPS challenge, which were significantly reversed after PAP treatment. Our results demonstrated the ability of PAP to antagonize LPS-mediated inflammation in primary culture of nucleus pulposus in intervertebral disc, suggesting a beneficial potential for its clinical application.