Anti-inflammatory effect of tetrahydrocoptisine from Corydalis impatiens is a function of possible inhibition of TNF-α, IL-6 and NO production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated peritoneal macrophages through inhibiting NF-κB activation and MAPK pathway.
The extracts or constituents from Corydalis impatiens are known to have many pharmacological activities. Tetrahydrocoptisine (THC), a protoberberine compound from Corydalis impatiens, was found to possess a potent anti-inflammatory effect in different acute or chronic inflammation model animals. Pretreatment with THC (i.p.) inhibited the paw and ear edema in the carrageenan-induced paw edema assay and xylene-induced ear edema assay, respectively. In the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced systemic inflammation model, THC significantly inhibited serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) release in mice. To clarify its possible molecular mechanisms underlying this anti-inflammatory effect, we investigated the effect of THC on LPS-induced responses in peritoneal macrophages. Our data demonstrated that THC significantly inhibited LPS-induced TNF-α, interleukin-6(IL-6) and nitric oxide (NO) production. THC inhibited the production of TNF-α and IL-6 by down-regulating LPS-induced IL-6 and TNF-α mRNA expression. Furthermore, it attenuated the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) and phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2) as well as the expression of nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB), in a concentration-dependent manner. Taken together, our data suggest that THC is an active anti-inflammatory constituent by inhibition of TNF-α, IL-6 and NO production possibly via down-regulation of NF-κB activation, phospho-ERK1/2 and phospho-p38MAPK signal pathways.
['Li|Weifeng|W|', 'Huang|Huimin|H|', 'Zhang|Yanmin|Y|', 'Fan|Ting|T|', 'Liu|Xia|X|', 'Xing|Wei|W|', 'Niu|Xiaofeng|X|']
D000818:Animals D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents D001600:Berberine Alkaloids D002351:Carrageenan D002470:Cell Survival D031311:Corydalis D016207:Cytokines D004487:Edema D005786:Gene Expression Regulation D015850:Interleukin-6 D008070:Lipopolysaccharides D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System D017737:Macrophages, Peritoneal D008297:Male D051379:Mice D016328:NF-kappa B D009569:Nitric Oxide D010750:Phosphoproteins D010766:Phosphorylation D051381:Rats D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha D014992:Xylenes
Tetrahydrocoptisine Nitric oxide Phospho-ERK1/2 Phospho-p38MAPK Nuclear factor-kappa B Pro-inflammatory cytokines