Abstract:
Macrophages play a crucial role in inflammatory response. Activated
macrophages release various pro-inflammatory mediator such as nitric oxide (NO),
prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis
factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). Nevertheless, massive production
NO, PGE2, TNF-α and IL-1β are associated with many inflammatory diseases. In the
present study, twenty-six fluorinated triarylmethane derivatives were newly
synthesized and investigated their effect on NO production in lipopolysaccharide
(LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. Among them, compounds JJBF9,
JJBF10, JJBF11, JJBF12, JJBF14, JJBF15 and JJCF1 potently inhibited NO
production than the other compounds with IC50 valuesranging from 6.89 ± 0.47 to
14.20 ± 0.67 µM. Furthermore, JJBF14 being the most potent compound with the
highest therapeutic index was selected to investigate underlying molecular mechanism
of its anti-inflammatory activity.
JJBF14 inhibited LPS-induced production of NO and PGE2 through
decreasing protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and
cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). The compound significantly inhibited LPS-induced
iNOS mRNA expression, but not COX-2. Moreover, JJBF14 attenuated the reduction
of LPS-modulated COX-1 protein expression. JJBF14 also reduced the secretion proinflammatory cytokine TNF-α whereas it had no significant effect on reduction of IL1β level. Additionally, JJBF14 inactivated nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) by preventing
phosphorylation of IκBα and nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65. Besides, JJBF14
markedly suppressed phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated kinase (p38 MAPK)
levels. However, it did not reduce the levels of phosphorylated c‑Jun N‑terminal
kinase (JNKs) and extracellular signal‑regulated kinase (ERK). Furthermore, JJBF14
caused declined phosphorylation of activating transcription factor-2 (ATF-2), a major
transcription factor target of p38 MAPK.
Taken together, these results indicated that JJBF14 suppressed the
production of NO, PGE2 and TNF-α in LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophage via
blockade of NF-κB and p38MAPK/ATF-2 signaling pathways. In addition, the
selected fluorinated triarylmethane derivative, JJBF14 might be useful as a promising
lead compound for future development of anti-inflammatory agent.