Polygalaxanthone III downregulates inflammation in the lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages: A quantibody array analysis

• Main Authors: Yinan Wu, Hongwei Fu, Xiaobin Yang, Fang Leng, Yadong Huang, Hong Deng, Qi Xiang, Shu Zhang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-10-01
• Series: Journal of Pharmacological Sciences
• Subjects: Polygala japonica Houtt.; Polygalaxanthone III; Inflammation modulation; Quantibody array; IL21
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1347861321000669

Polygala japonica Houtt. (PJ), a member of the Polygala L. family that is suggested to exhibit detoxification properties in traditional Chinese medicine, is often used to treat upper respiratory tract infections. The anti-inflammatory effects of four main components of PJ (POL, PS-XLIX, PS-E, and PS-F) were examined using the LPS(0.3 μg·mL−1)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage model. The levels of NO, ROS, and iNOS were examined to analyze the anti-inflammatory activity of POL. Additionally, the levels of extracellular inflammation-related cytokines and chemokines were measured using quantibody array. The KEGG pathway analysis was performed to examine the anti-inflammatory mechanism of POL. The levels of NO in the POL-pretreated group were significantly downregulated when compared with those in the PS-E-pretreated, PS-F-pretreated, and PS-XLIX-pretreated groups. POL significantly inhibited the changes of iNOS, ROS, and inflammatory factors caused by LPS stimulation (p < 0.001). The expression levels of IL21 and GM-CSF were examined using qPCR, while those of JAK-STAT signaling pathway-related proteins in the LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages were analyzed using western blotting. POL significantly downregulated the expression of IL-21 and GM-CSF. The anti-inflammatory mechanism of POL is mediated through the JAK-STAT pathway. Thus, this study demonstrated that POL is an anti-inflammatory component of PJ and elucidated its mechanism.