Department of Anatomy, Medical School, Institute for Medical Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 561-756, Republic of Korea.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2012 Oct 26;427(3):450-5. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.07.112. Epub 2012 Jul 27.
Allergic asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease regulated by coordination of T-helper2 (Th2) type cytokines and inflammatory signal molecules. Silibinin is one of the main flavonoids produced by milk thistle, which is reported to inhibit the inflammatory response by suppressing the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway. Because NF-κB activation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of allergic inflammation, we have investigated the effect of silibinin on a mouse ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma model. Airway hyperresponsiveness, cytokines levels, and eosinophilic infiltration were analyzed in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and lung tissue. Pretreatment of silibinin significantly inhibited airway inflammatory cell recruitment and peribronchiolar inflammation and reduced the production of various cytokines in bronchoalveolar fluid. In addition, silibinin prevented the development of airway hyperresponsiveness and attenuated the OVA challenge-induced NF-κB activation. These findings indicate that silibinin protects against OVA-induced airway inflammation, at least in part via downregulation of NF-κB activity. Our data support the utility of silibinin as a potential medicine for the treatment of asthma.
过敏性哮喘是一种由 T 辅助 2（Th2）型细胞因子和炎症信号分子协调调控的慢性炎症性疾病。水飞蓟宾是奶蓟草中主要的黄酮类化合物之一，据报道，它通过抑制核因子-κB（NF-κB）通路来抑制炎症反应。由于 NF-κB 激活在过敏性炎症的发病机制中起着关键作用，我们研究了水飞蓟宾对卵清蛋白（OVA）诱导的哮喘小鼠模型的影响。分析支气管肺泡灌洗液和肺组织中的气道高反应性、细胞因子水平和嗜酸性粒细胞浸润。水飞蓟宾预处理显著抑制气道炎症细胞募集和细支气管周围炎症，并减少支气管肺泡灌洗液中各种细胞因子的产生。此外，水飞蓟宾还可预防气道高反应性的发生，并减弱 OVA 激发诱导的 NF-κB 激活。这些发现表明，水飞蓟宾可预防 OVA 诱导的气道炎症，至少部分是通过下调 NF-κB 活性来实现的。我们的数据支持将水飞蓟宾作为治疗哮喘的潜在药物的应用。
