School of Pharmacy, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, PR China; Key Laboratory of Material Basis Analysis of Chinese Medicine, Shaanxi Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an 710061, PR China.
School of Pharmacy, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, PR China; Key Laboratory of Material Basis Analysis of Chinese Medicine, Shaanxi Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xi'an 710061, PR China.
Int Immunopharmacol. 2021 Jan;90:107170. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2020.107170. Epub 2020 Nov 17.
Inflammation plays an important role in the process of atherosclerosis (AS). Inhibition of inflammation is an effective way to prevent AS. Imperatorin (IMP) is a kind of furan coumarin with various activities. In this study, the anti-inflammatory effect of IMP was explored in oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced VSMCs and high fat diet (HFD)-induced ApoE mice. The results showed that IMP attenuated the elevation of TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1 and NO induced by ox-LDL in supernatant of VSMCs. IMP has normalized the levels of serum lipids (TC, TG, LDL-C and HDL-C) and attenuated inflammatory cytokines in serum. IMP also improved pathological changes and lipid accumulation in aorta. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) expression in aorta was down-regulated by IMP. IMP could inhibit the phosphorylation of MAPKs pathway in the aorta and VSMCs, resulting in a significant decrease in the contents of p-ERK 1/2, p-JNK and p-P38. Overall, IMP could exert anti-inflammatory effects in vivo and in vitro to interfere with AS.
炎症在动脉粥样硬化（AS）的发生发展过程中起着重要作用。抑制炎症是预防 AS 的有效途径。茴芹素（IMP）是一种具有多种活性的呋喃香豆素。本研究探讨了 IMP 对氧化型低密度脂蛋白（ox-LDL）诱导的血管平滑肌细胞（VSMCs）和高脂饮食（HFD）诱导的载脂蛋白 E 基因敲除（ApoE）小鼠的抗炎作用。结果表明，IMP 可减轻 ox-LDL 诱导的 VSMCs 上清液中 TNF-α、IL-6、MCP-1 和 NO 的升高。IMP 使血清脂质（TC、TG、LDL-C 和 HDL-C）水平正常化，并减轻血清中炎症细胞因子的水平。IMP 还改善了主动脉的病理变化和脂质堆积。IMP 下调主动脉中基质金属蛋白酶-2（MMP-2）的表达。IMP 可抑制主动脉和 VSMCs 中 MAPKs 通路的磷酸化，导致 p-ERK 1/2、p-JNK 和 p-P38 的含量显著减少。综上所述，IMP 可在体内和体外发挥抗炎作用，干扰 AS 的发生发展。
