Salvianic Acid A Inhibits Induction Of Inflammatory Mediators By Blocking Nuclear Factor-κB Activation In Macrophages

Objective: To investigate the anti-inflammation effect and possible mechanism of Salvianic acid A (SAA) in mouse peritoneal macrophages.Methods: Peritoneal macrophages which were obtained from BALB/c mice, were randomly assigned to five groups bellow (n=3 in each):negative control; LPS group, receiving 10μg/ml LPS; SAA pretreated groups, three concentrations of SAA (10μg/ml, 1μg/ml, 0.1μg/ml) + 10μg/ml LPS. Nitric oxide (NO) was determined by Griess method, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in supernatant were determined by Radio-immunity, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) was measured by Gelatin zymography, protein expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in the extract were measured by Western Blot.Results: The levels of NO, TNF-α, IL-6, iNOS and MMP-9 increased rapidly after stimulated by 10μg/ml LPS (P<0.01), all of which were reduced by pretreated with SAA in a concentration-dependent manner (P<0.01). LPS stimulation led to the NF-κB P65 translocation from cytosol to the nucleus sharply, but this effect is significantly being suppressed by SAA at concentration of 10μg/ml.Conclusion: The results showed that SAA had strong anti- inflammatory effects in LPS-stimulated peritoneal macrophages. The important mechanism is due to its inhibition of NF-κB activation.