Osthole inhibits inflammatory cytokine release through PPARα/γ-mediated mechanisms in LPS-stimulated 3T3-L1 adipocytes

Abstract

Context: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) α/γ may control inflammatory response by regulating the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB). Osthole may be a dual agonist of PPARα/γ, but whether or not osthole may inhibit inflammatory cytokines in cultured 3T3-L1 adipocytes is unclear.

Objective: We investigated the action of osthole and its potential mechanisms in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

Materials and methods: The 3T3-L1 adipocytes stimulated with LPS were cultured and treated with different concentrations of osthole. The inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in cultured supernatants were detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method, and the protein expressions of PPARα/γ and NF-κB p65 in adipocytes were detected by the Western blot method, respectively.

Results: Following treatment of adipocytes with osthole 0.1–1.6 μM, the TNF-α and IL-6 levels in cultured supernatants were decreased, and the NF-κB p65 protein expression in adipocytes was also decreased, while the PPARα/γ protein expressions were increased. After pretreatment of adipocytes with specific inhibitor(s) of PPARα and /or PPARγ, the inhibitory effects of osthole on TNF-α and IL-6 were decreased or almost cancelled, and the effects on NF-κB p65 protein expression also exhibited similar variations.

Conclusion: Osthole could inhibit the TNF-α and IL-6 production in LPS-stimulated adipocytes, and its mechanism might be related to reduction of NF-κB expression via activation of PPARα/γ.

• IL-6
• osthole
• PPARα/γ
• TNF-α
• 3T3-L1 adipocytes

Declaration of interest

This research was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81173067), the Postgraduate Innovative Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. CXLZ12-0854), the Excellent Postgraduate Items of Soochow University, and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, China. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.