Suppression of NF-κB by dieckol extracted from Ecklonia cava negatively regulates LPS induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase gene.

Dieckol, extracted from brown algae, Ecklonia cava, is suggested to elicit anti-inflammatory or anti-tumorigenic activities. However, dieckol-mediated regulatory mechanism for inflammatory response still remains elusive. Here, we show that dieckol suppressed lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in mouse leukemic macrophage Raw264.7 cells. Also, dieckol decreased LPS-induced both nitric oxide (NO) production and iNOS promoter-driven transcriptional activity in a dose-dependent manner. On the other hand, LPS-mediated NF-κB activity was inhibited by dieckol treatment. Moreover, results revealed that dieckol diminished LPS-mediated p65 nuclear translocation or IκBα phosphorylation dose-dependently, and reduced LPS-induced phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), significantly p38MAPK. Collectively, these findings suggest that dieckol acts as a negative regulator of LPS-mediated iNOS induction through suppression of NF-κB activity, implying a mechanistic role of dieckol in regulation of inflammatory response.