Departmento de Biologia Celular, Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, FMRP/USP, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:418508. doi: 10.1155/2013/418508. Epub 2013 Apr 16.
Propolis extracts have gained the attention of consumers and researchers due to their unique chemical compositions and functional properties such as its anti-inflammatory activity. Recently, it was described a complex that is also important in inflammatory processes, named inflammasome. The inflammasomes are a large molecular platform formed in the cell cytosol in response to stress signals, toxins, and microbial infections. Once activated, the inflammasome induces caspase-1, which in turn induces the processing of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1 β and IL-18. So, to understand inflammasomes regulation becomes crucial to treat several disorders including autoinflammatory diseases. Since green propolis extracts are able to regulate inflammatory pathways, this work purpose was to investigate if this extract could also act on inflammasomes regulation. First, the extract was characterized and it demonstrated the presence of important compounds, especially Artepillin C. This extract was effective in reducing the IL-1 β secretion in mouse macrophages and this reduction was correlated with a decrease in activation of the protease caspase-1. Furthermore, we found that the extract at a concentration of 30 μ g/mL was not toxic to the cells even after a 18-hour treatment. Altogether, these data indicate that Brazilian green propolis (EPP-AF) extract has a role in regulating the inflammasomes.
蜂胶提取物因其独特的化学成分和功能特性，如抗炎活性，引起了消费者和研究人员的关注。最近，一种在炎症过程中也很重要的复合物被描述为炎症小体。炎症小体是一种在细胞胞质溶胶中响应应激信号、毒素和微生物感染而形成的大型分子平台。一旦被激活，炎症小体就会诱导半胱天冬酶-1 的产生，进而诱导白细胞介素-1β和白细胞介素-18 等炎症细胞因子的加工。因此，了解炎症小体的调节对于治疗包括自身炎症性疾病在内的多种疾病变得至关重要。由于绿蜂胶提取物能够调节炎症途径，本研究旨在探讨该提取物是否也能调节炎症小体的调节。首先，对提取物进行了表征，结果表明其含有重要的化合物，特别是 Artepillin C。该提取物能有效减少小鼠巨噬细胞中白细胞介素-1β的分泌，这种减少与蛋白酶半胱天冬酶-1 的激活减少相关。此外，我们发现该提取物在 30μ g/mL 的浓度下即使在 18 小时的处理后对细胞也没有毒性。总之，这些数据表明巴西绿蜂胶（EPP-AF）提取物在调节炎症小体方面发挥了作用。
