Anti-inflammatory action of salvianic acid A through the inhibition of nuclear factor-kB activation in peritoneal macrophages

Jun Yuan, Jihong Yao, Xiaofeng Tian
Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China

Our aim was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect and possible mechanism of salvianic acid A⋻SAA⋻in mouse peritoneal macrophages. Peritoneal macrophages were obtained from BALB/c mice. LPS induced nitric oxide (NO), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in supernatant, protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in the extract were measured. SAA strongly inhibited the excessive production of NO, TNF-α and IL-6 in LPS-induced peritoneal macrophages in a concentration-dependent manner and blocked the expression of iNOS and MMP-9. Treatment with LPS alone increased the translocation of NF-κB (p65) from cytosol to the nucleus, but the SAA inhibited the translocation of NF-κB (p65). The results showed that SAA had strong anti-inflammatory effects in LPS-stimulated peritoneal macrophages. The important mechanism is due to its inhibition of NF-κB activation.