Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Echinacoside attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in newborn mice via inactivation of NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway

Meijiao Fu, Tong Shen , Ying Yang, Yaling Zheng, Lilin Zhong

Department of Pediatric Internal Medicine, Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen City, Fujian Province 361000, China;

For correspondence:- Tong Shen Email: shentong20615@163.com Tel:+865922663952

Accepted: 28 August 2020 Published: 30 September 2020

Citation: Fu M, Shen T, Yang Y, Zheng Y, Zhong L. Echinacoside attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in newborn mice via inactivation of NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway. Trop J Pharm Res 2020; 19(9):1815-1819 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v19i9.3

© 2020 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the effect of echinacoside (ECH) on acute lung injury (ALI) and the underlying mechanism of action.

Methods: The ALI model was established through intranasal instillation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Lung tissue damage was determined using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and lung wet-to-dry–weight ratio. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) protein concentration, cell count, and cytokine level were evaluated. Western blotting was used to determine protein expression level.

Results: ECH attenuated lung tissue injury and lung wet-to-dry–weight ratio in the ALI model (p < 0.01). The total protein content and number of total cells, neutrophils, and macrophages increased in BALF of mice treated with LPS, but these increases were reversed by ECH treatment (p < 0.01). The levels of TNF-α and IL-1β increased in BALF and lung tissue of LPS-treated mice; however, ECH treatment decreased these changes (p < 0.01). In addition, ECH inhibited the activation of the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)/NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) pathway in LPS-treated mice (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Echinacoside attenuates LPS-induced ALI via inactivation of the NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway, making echinacoside a potential drug for the treatment of ALI.

Keywords: Echinacoside, Acute lung injury, Lipopolysaccharide, Nuclear factor-κB, NLR family pyrin domain containing 3