Effect of Imperatorin on Adenosine Triphosphate-stimulated Mucin Secretion from Airway Epithelial Cells

Angelicae Koreanae Radix has been used for controlling inflammatory respiratory diseases in folk medicine and their components, imperatorin, marmesinin and oxypeucedanin were reported to have diverse biological effects. In this study, we investigated whether imperatorin, marmesinin and oxypeucedanin affect adenosine triphosphate(ATP)-induced mucin secretion from cultured airway epithelial cells. Confluent primary hamster tracheal surface epithelial(HTSE) cells were metabolically radiolabeled using -glucosamine for 24 h and chased for 30 min in the presence of varying concentrations of each agent to assess the effects on -mucin secretion. The results were as follows: 1) imperatorin significantly inhibited ATP-induced mucin secretion; 2) However, marmesinin and oxypeucedanin did not affect ATP-induced mucin secretion, significantly. We conclude that imperatorin might inhibit ATP-induced mucin secretion by directly acting on airway mucin-secreting cells. Therefore, imperatorin should further be investigated for the possible use as mucoregulators in the treatment of inflammatory airway diseases.