Suppression by a sesquiterpene lactone from Carpesium divaricatum of inducible nitric oxide synthase by inhibiting nuclear factor-κB activation

Abstract Excessive nitric oxide (NO) produced by inducible NO synthase (iNOS) acts as a causative regulator in various inflammatory disease states. Carpesium divaricatum has been used in Korean traditional herbal medicine for its antipyretic, analgesic, vermifugic, and anti-inflammatory properties. We investigated the molecular mechanism for the suppression of lipopolysaccharide/interferon-γ (LPS/IFN-γ)-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophages by the sesquiterpene lactone 2β,5-epoxy-5,10-dihydroxy-6α-angeloyloxy-9β-isobutyloxy-germacran-8α,12-olide (C-1), which has been identified recently as a new compound from C. divaricatum . C-1 decreased NO production in LPS/IFN-γ-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, with an ic 50 of approximately 2.16 μM; however, it had no direct effect on the iNOS activity of fully LPS/IFN-γ-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, treatment with C-1 led to a decrease in iNOS protein and mRNA. These effects appear to be due to inhibition of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation through a mechanism involving stabilization of the NF-κB/inhibitor of the κB (I-κB) complex, since inhibition of NF-κB DNA binding activity by C-1 was accompanied by a parallel reduction of nuclear translocation of subunit p65 of NF-κB and I-κBα degradation. Taken together, the results suggest that the ability of C-1 to inhibit iNOS gene expression may be responsible, in part, for its anti-inflammatory effects.