N-(p-Coumaryol)-Tryptamine Suppresses the Activation of JNK/c-Jun Signaling Pathway in LPS-Challenged RAW264.7 Cells |
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Authors: | Van Anh Vo Jae-Won Lee Jun-Ho Park Jae-Hyun Kwon Hee Jae Lee Sung-Soo Kim Yong-Soo Kwon Wanjoo Chun |
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Affiliation: | 1.Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701;2.College of Pharmacy, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701;3.Department of Radiology, Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, Ilsan 410-773, Republic of Korea |
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Abstract: | N-(p-Coumaryol) tryptamine (CT), a phenolic amide, has been reported to exhibit anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the underlying mechanism by which CT exerts its pharmacological properties has not been clearly demonstrated. The objective of this study is to elucidate the anti-inflammatory mechanism of CT in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged RAW264.7 macrophage cells. CT significantly inhibited LPS-induced extracellular secretion of pro-inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide (NO) and PGE2, and protein expressions of iNOS and COX-2. In addition, CT significantly suppressed LPS-induced secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-1β. To elucidate the underlying anti-inflammatory mechanism of CT, involvement of MAPK and Akt signaling pathways was examined. CT significantly attenuated LPS-induced activation of JNK/c-Jun, but not ERK and p38, in a concentration-dependent manner. Interestingly, CT appeared to suppress LPS-induced Akt phosphorylation. However, JNK inhibition, but not Akt inhibition, resulted in the suppression of LPS-induced responses, suggesting that JNK/c-Jun signaling pathway significantly contributes to LPS-induced inflammatory responses and that LPS-induced Akt phosphorylation might be a compensatory response to a stress condition. Taken together, the present study clearly demonstrates CT exerts anti-inflammatory activity through the suppression of JNK/c-Jun signaling pathway in LPS-challenged RAW264.7 macrophage cells. |
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Keywords: | N-(p-Coumaroyl) tryptamine RAW 264 7 cells Lipopolysaccharide iNOS COX-2 JNK c-Jun |
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