Esculetin Ameliorates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Lung Injury in Mice Via Modulation of the AKT/ERK/NF-κB and RORγt/IL-17 Pathways

Hung Chen Lee, Fu Chao Liu, Chi Neu Tsai, An Hsun Chou, Chia Chih Liao, Huang Ping Yu*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

30 Scopus citations

Abstract

Esculetin, a coumarin derivative from various natural plants, has an anti-inflammatory property. In the present study, we examined if esculetin has any salutary effects against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in mice. Acute lung injury (ALI) was induced via the intratracheal administration of LPS, and esculetin (20 and 40 mg/kg) was given intraperitoneally 30 min before LPS challenge. After 6 h of LPS administration, lung tissues were collected for analysis. Pretreatment with esculetin significantly attenuated histopathological changes, inflammatory cell infiltration, and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6, in the lung tissue. Furthermore, esculetin inhibited the protein kinase B (AKT), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathways and downregulated the expression of RORγt and IL-17 in LPS-induced ALI. Our results indicated that esculetin possesses anti-inflammatory and protective effects against LPS-induced ALI via inhibition of the AKT/ERK/NF-κB and RORγt/IL-17 pathways.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)962-974
Number of pages13
JournalInflammation
Volume43
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 01 06 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Keywords

  • AKT/ERK/NF-κB
  • LPS
  • RORγt/IL-17
  • esculetin
  • lung injury

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