Bae Seunghee, Jung Younjung, Choi Yeong Min, Li Shunhua
Biol Res. 2015 Jan 26;48(1):8. doi: 10.1186/0717-6287-48-8.
Various health benefits have been attributed to Er-Miao-San (EMS), a traditional Chinese herbal formulation that contains equal amounts of cortex phellodendri (Phellodendron amurense Ruprecht) and rhizoma atractylodis (Atractylodes lancea D.C). However, its effect on the anti-inflammatory activity in human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) and the mechanism underlying this effect are unknown.
This study investigated the effects of EMS on TNF-α-induced MMP-1 expression in HDFs. Our data show that EMS inhibited TNF-α-induced MMP-1 expression in a concentration-dependent manner. Interestingly, EMS maintained IκB content without inhibiting the phosphorylation of MAPKs, which are well-established upstream kinases of NF-κB. Moreover, EMS reduced the level of nuclear p65 protein in HDFs. Luciferase assay revealed that EMS inhibits the transcriptional activity of NF-κB by stabilizing IκB. Our results show that EMS exerts its anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting NF-κB-regulated genes such as IL-1β and IL-8. Moreover, EMS effectively inhibited TNF-α-induced expression of MMP-1 via the NF-κB pathway.
Taken together, our data suggest that EMS could potentially be used as an anti-inflammatory and anti-aging treatment.
二妙散（EMS）是一种传统的中药配方，由等量的黄柏（关黄柏）和苍术（茅苍术）组成，具有多种健康益处。然而，其对人皮肤成纤维细胞（HDFs）抗炎活性的影响及其作用机制尚不清楚。
本研究调查了EMS对HDFs中肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）诱导的基质金属蛋白酶-1（MMP-1）表达的影响。我们的数据表明，EMS以浓度依赖的方式抑制TNF-α诱导的MMP-1表达。有趣的是，EMS维持IκB含量，而不抑制丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAPKs）的磷酸化，MAPKs是核因子-κB（NF-κB）公认的上游激酶。此外，EMS降低了HDFs中核p65蛋白的水平。荧光素酶测定显示，EMS通过稳定IκB抑制NF-κB的转录活性。我们的结果表明，EMS通过抑制NF-κB调控的基因如白细胞介素-1β（IL-1β）和白细胞介素-8（IL-8）发挥其抗炎作用。此外，EMS通过NF-κB途径有效抑制TNF-α诱导的MMP-1表达。
综上所述，我们的数据表明EMS可能具有抗炎和抗衰老治疗的潜力。
