Abstract
Quercetin is a herbal flavonoid derived from various foods of plant origin and widely used as a major constituent of nutritional supplements. Quercetin has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties and can play a role in anti-inflammatory procedure. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) is one of the important pro-inflammatory factors, especially in early phage of inflammation. However, the mechanisms regulating ICAM-1 expression by quercetin in human A549 cells were still unclear. In this study, the inhibitory effect of quercetin on ICAM-1 expression by interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta)-stimulated A549 cells was investigated, and the roles of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathways were explored. Quercetin attenuated IL-1 beta-induced expression of ICAM-1 mRNA and protein in a dose-dependent manner. The experiment suggested that quercetin actively inhibited inhibitory protein of nuclear factor-kappa B (I kappa B) degradation, and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) activity. The c-fos and c-jun, components of activator protein-1 (AP-1), were mediated by MAPK pathways. ERK and p38 were involved in the c-fos mRNA expression, and JNK was involved in the c-jun mRNA expression. The inhibitory effect of quercetin on ICAM-1 expression was mediated by the sequential attenuation of the c-fos and c-jun mRNA expressions. These inhibitory effects were partially inhibited by SB203580, a specific inhibitor of p38 MAPK, but not by PD98059, a specific inhibitors of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and SP600125, a specific inhibitor of c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK). Taken together, these results suggest that quercetin negatively modulating ICAM-1 partly dependent on MAPK pathways.
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Abbreviations
- ICAM-1:
-
Intercellular adhesion molecule-1
- ERK:
-
Extracellular signal-regulated kinase
- JNK:
-
c-jun NH2-terminal kinase
- NF-kappa B:
-
Nuclear factor-kappa B
- I kappa B:
-
Inhibitory protein of nuclear factor-kappa B
- IL-1 beta:
-
Interleukin-1 beta
- MAPK:
-
Mitogen activated protein kinase
- AP-1:
-
Activator protein-1
- TNF-alpha:
-
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha
- MTT:
-
3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide
- DMSO:
-
Dimethylsulfoxide
- RT-PCR:
-
Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by Grants #30425007, 30370627, 30670921 from National Natural Science Foundation of China and 00–722, 06–834 from China Medical Board of New York to Dr. F.Q. Wen.
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Binwu Ying and Ting Yang have contributed equally to this work.
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Ying, B., Yang, T., Song, X. et al. Quercetin inhibits IL-1 beta-induced ICAM-1 expression in pulmonary epithelial cell line A549 through the MAPK pathways. Mol Biol Rep 36, 1825–1832 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-008-9386-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-008-9386-1