Sesquiterpene lactone fraction fromArtemisia khorassanicainhibits inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 expression through the inactivation of NF-κB

Abstract

In this study, we demonstrated that SLAK inhibits the production of NO, PGE2, TNF-α, and IL-1β in LPS-stimulated macrophages. This anti-inflammatory effect possibly occurs by inhibiting iNOS and COX-2 expression via the inactivation of NF-κB pathway.

In vitroimmunomodulatory properties of a sesquiterpene lactone-bearing fraction fromArtemisia khorassanica

“…In brief, splenocytes were dispensed into 96-well microtiter plates at 4 Â 10 5 cells/well (100 ml per well), and then SLAK (0.5-20 mg/ml) was added in fixed volumes so a total volume/well was 200 ml. These doses were selected for analysis based on our previous study (Emami et al, 2010). Non-treated control wells received medium in place of the SLAK.…”

“…The terpenoide fraction was prepared from the isolated samples as previously described (Emami et al, 2010;Iranshahi et al, 2007). The Herz-Högenauer technique was used to remove chlorophyll and phenolics (by lead (Å) acetate precipitation) and to prepare a crude sesquiterpene sample for further chromatographic/spectral investigation.…”

“…Some studies reported that some constituents of Artemisia exerted stimulatory effects on T-cell-mediated immune responses (Chang et al, 2009;Noori et al, 2010;Sun et al, 2010;Yin et al, 2011). In a previous study, we reported the anti-inflammatory effects of a sesquiterpene lactone-bearing fraction isolated from Artemisia khorassanica (SLAK); those studies showed that SLAK impacted on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced release of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-and interleukin (IL)-1 release, as well as the expression of both iNOS and COX-2 enzymes, by the J774A.1 macrophage cell line (Emami et al, 2010). To expand our understanding of how the products of Artemisia might act as immunomodulants, the present study sought to clarify the effects of SLAK in vitro in freshly-isolated murine cells involved in immune responses in situ.…”

Anti-cancer Properties of a Sesquiterpene Lactone-bearing Fraction from Artemisia khorassanica

“…The terpenoide fraction was prepared from the isolated samples as previously described (Iranshahi et al, 2007;Emami et al, 2010). The Herz-Högenauer technique was used to remove chlorophyll and phenolics (by lead (Π) acetate precipitation) and to prepare a crude sesquiterpene sample for further chromatographic/spectral investigation.…”

“…In a previous study, we reported the anti-inflammatory effects of a sesquiterpene lactonebearing fraction isolated from Artemisia khorassanica (SLAK); those studies showed that SLAK impacted on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced release of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β release, as well as the expression of both iNOS and COX-2 enzymes, by the J774A.1 macrophage cell line (Emami et al, 2010). To expand our understanding if the products of Artemisia might also act as anti-cancer agent, the present study sought to clarify the effects of SLAK in vitro in various melanoma cell lines and investigating the mechanism of action.…”