Anti-asthmatic activity of osthole in an ovalbumin-induced asthma murine model

• Published in: Respiratory physiology & neurobiology 2017-05, Vol.239, p.64-69
• Main Authors: Wang, Jingjing, Fu, Yunhe, Wei, Zhengkai, He, Xuexiu, Shi, Mingyu, Kou, Jinhua, Zhou, Ershun, Liu, Weijian, Yang, Zhengtao, Guo, Changming
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Allergic asthma; Animals; Anti-Asthmatic Agents - therapeutic use; Asthma - blood; Asthma - chemically induced; Asthma - drug therapy; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid - immunology; Coumarins - therapeutic use; Cytokines - metabolism; Disease Models, Animal; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Immunoglobulin E - blood; Inflammation; Medical Education; Mice; NF-kappa B - metabolism; NF-κB; Osthole; Ovalbumin - toxicity; Pulmonary/Respiratory
• ISSN: 1569-9048; 1878-1519
• DOI: 10.1016/j.resp.2017.01.011

[Display omitted] •Osthole reduced inflammatory cells in BALF.•Osthole reduced the levels of Th2 cytokines in BALF and OVA-specific IgE in serum.•Osthole ameliorated pathological changes of lung tissue.•Osthole suppressed NF-κB activity in a mouse asthma model. Osthole, an active coumarin extracted from the dried fruits of Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson, is known to possess a variety of pharmacological activities. In the present study, we investigated and illuminated the mechanisms underlying the protective effects of osthole in an experimental model of allergic asthma. Our results show that osthole treatment significantly reduced the OVA-induced increase in serum IgE and inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and decreased the recruitment of inflammatory cells in BALF and the lung. It also effectively attenuated goblet cell hyperplasia and mucus overproduction in lung tissue. In addition, western blot analysis demonstrated that osthole blocked NF-κB activation, which may be associated with a reduction in inflammatory cytokine production. These data suggest that osthole attenuated OVA-induced allergic asthma inflammation by inhibiting NF-κB activation. The present study identified the molecular mechanisms of action of osthole, which support the potential pharmaceutical application of osthole treatment for asthma and other airway inflammation disorders.