Bullatine a Exerted Anti-Inflammatory Effects by Inhibiting JNK/ROS/NF-κB Pathway and Attenuates Systemic Inflammatory Response in LPS-Challenged Mice

Abstract

\n Background: The genus Aconitum has rich pharmacological characteristics. Aconiti brachypodi Radix (Xue-shang-yi-zhi-hao) is a dried root of aconitum, which is considered to be analgesic and anti-inflammatory in modern medical and pharmaceutical clinical studies. Bullatine A (BA), a major active ingredient of this plant, has been reported for its significant anti-analgesic effect in previous studies. However, the role of BA in inflammation is unknown. In the current study, we aimed to explore the effect of BA on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory response both in vitro and in vivo and its potential anti-inflammatory mechanism.Materials and Methods: The anti-inflammatory effect of BA was evaluated in two different types of LPS-induced macrophages, including BV-2 microglial cells and immortalized murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (iBMDMs), and in acute inflammation mouse models induced by LPS. Immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, quantitative RT-PCR, western blot and Hematoxylin-Eosin staining were used to determine the anti-inflammatory properties of BA.Results: The results showed that BA significantly reduced the mRNA levels of several pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by LPS both in BV-2 cells and iBMDMs. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in response to LPS were also decreased by BA. Further investigations indicated BA significantly blocked the phosphorylation of IκB kinase, degradation of the inhibitor IκBa and the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) p65. BA also reduced c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) phosphorylation and ROS generation in iBMDMs activated with LPS, but had no effect on other mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) family proteins such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) or p38. Furthermore, BA treatment alleviate liver and lung tissue damage, reduce inflammatory cell infiltration, and inhibit the expression of inflammatory cytokines in LPS-challenged mice.Conclusions: This study illustrated that BA has obvious anti-inflammatory effects both in vitro and in vivo, and its underlying anti-inflammatory mechanism may be via inactivating JNK/ROS/NF-κB pathway. Therefore, BA may have a certain therapeutic potential for inflammatory-related diseases.