Isoalantolactone (IAL) is a sesquiterpene lactone extracted from roots of Inula helenium L and has shown anti-inflammatory effects. In this study we investigated the therapeutic effects of IAL on acute lung injury (ALI) and elucidated the mechanisms underlying its anti-inflammation potential in vitro and in vivo. Treatment with lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 100 ng/mL) drastically stimulated production of inflammatory mediators such as NO, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), which was dose-dependently suppressed by pretreatment with IAL (2.5, 5, 10, 20 μM). We further revealed that IAL suppressed LPS-induced NF-κB, ERK, and Akt activation. Moreover, the downregulation of non-degradable K63-linked polyubiquitination of TRAF6, an upstream transcription factor of NF-κB, contributed to the anti-inflammatory effects of IAL. ALI was induced in mice by intratracheal injection of LPS (5 mg/kg). Administration of IAL (20 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly suppressed pulmonary pathological changes, neutrophil infiltration, pulmonary permeability, and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. Our results demonstrate that IAL is a potential therapeutic reagent against inflammation and ALI.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive interstitial pneumonia
characterised by fibroblast accumulation, collagen deposition and extracellular
matrix (ECM) remodelling. It was reported that Akt1 mediated idiopathic
pulmonary fibrosis progression through regulating the apoptosis of alveolar
macrophage, while its effect on macrophage-produced cytokines remains largely
unknown. In the present study, we first examined the phosphorylation of Akt1 in
lung sections from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients by
immunohistochemistry before applying a bleomycin-induced idiopathic pulmonary
fibrosis model using Akt1−/− mice and
Akt1+/+ littermates. The results showed that
Akt1 was remarkably up-regulated in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients,
while in vivo studies revealed that Akt1-deficient mice had
well-preserved alveolar structure and fewer collagens, secreted fewer matrix
components, including alpha smooth-muscle actin and fibronectin and survived
significantly longer than Akt1+/+ littermates.
Additionally, the pro-fibrogenic cytokine IL-13 was down-regulated at least
twofold in Akt1−/−mice compared to the
Akt1+/+group on d 3 and 7 after bleomycin
treatment. Furthermore, it was found that Akt1–/– macrophages
displayed down-regulation of IL-13 compared to Akt1+/+ macrophages in
which Akt1 was phosphorylated in response to IL-33 stimulation. These findings
indicate that Akt1 modulates pulmonary fibrosis through inducing IL-13
production by macrophages, suggesting that targeting Akt1 may simultaneously
block the fibrogenic processes of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
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