Effects of Baimuxinol on the inflammation and oxidative stress of LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophages via regulating the NF-κB/IκBα and Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway

Abstract

Baimuxinol (BAI) is a sesquiterpenoid compound isolated from agarwood. This study aimed to investigate the specific mechanism of BAI on the inflammation as well as oxidative stress of RAW264.7 cells induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The proliferation and cell viability were detected with EdU and MTT assay. The levels of inflammatory factors and antioxidant-related indexes were determined with corresponding kits. The qRT-PCR and western blot assays were performed to detect the expression of the related genes. We found that compared with the control group, cell viability and proliferation of the RAW264.7 cells was increased in the LPS group, while it was decreased in the BAI groups. In addition, in the LPS group, the contents of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, ROS, MDA, PC and 8-OHdG were increased, the activities of T-SOD and CAT were decreased in comparison with the control group. It was reversed after BAI treatment. Finally, we confirmed that the NF-κB/IκBα signaling pathway is inhibited and the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway is activated after BAI treatment. BAI relieved inflammation and oxidative stress of RAW264.7 macrophages induced by LPS through regulating the NF-κB/IκBα and Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway, which provided a novel insight for the therapy of sepsis.