Journal Article

Bullatine A exerts anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the ROS/JNK/NF-κB pathway and attenuating systemic inflammatory responses in mice

Liu, Shuhan, Ou, Wen, Cheng, Yong, Che, Na, Yan, Meichen, Liao, Yajin

2022

Overview

Aconiti brachypodi Radix (Xue-shang-yi-zhi-hao) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that is capable of anti-analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. Bullatine A (BA) is one of the major active ingredients of this plant, and most of the previous studies reported that it has anti-analgesic effects. However, the mechanism of BA anti-inflammatory remains unclear. This study investigates the anti-inflammatory activities of BA, both in vitro and in vivo, and elucidates its mechanism. In vitro, BA (10, 20, 40 and 80 μM) was added to 1 µg/mL of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated microglia BV2 cells and immortalized murine bone marrow-derived macrophages, respectively. After 6 h, the mRNA and protein levels of inflammatory factors were determined by real-time quantitative PCR and western blotting. In vivo, C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control, model (5 mg/kg dose of LPS) and treated groups (LPS with 5, 10 or 20 mg/kg dose of BA) to evaluate the anti-inflammatory efficacy of BA. BA significantly inhibited LPS-induced expression of inflammatory factors, such as IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and COX-2. Further investigations showed that BA reduced the translocation of NF-κB p65 (38.5%, p < 0.01). BA also reduced the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) (11.2%, p < 0.05) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation (24.2%, p < 0.01). Furthermore, BA treatment attenuated the LPS-primed inflammatory response and liver and lung damage in vivo. BA can inhibit the inflammatory response in part through the ROS/JNK/NF-κB signalling pathway, providing a theoretical basis for the clinical application of BA in the treatment of periphery inflammatory diseases.

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis,Taylor & Francis Ltd,Taylor & Francis Group
• Subject: Aconiti brachypodi Radix / Analgesics / Biological Sciences / Bone marrow / BV-2 / c-Jun protein / Herbal medicine / IL-1β / inducible nitric oxide synthase / inflammation / Inflammatory diseases / Interleukin 6 / JNK protein / Kinases / Lipopolysaccharides / liver / LPS / lungs / macrophage / Macrophages / MAPKs / mice / Microglia / mitogen-activated protein kinase / mRNA / neuroglia / NF-κB protein / Nitric oxide / Nitric-oxide synthase / Oriental traditional medicine / Phosphorylation / quantitative polymerase chain reaction / Reactive oxygen species / Signal transduction / Transcription factors / Tumor necrosis factor-α / Western blotting