Anti-inflammatory effects of ivy leaves dry extract: influence on transcriptional activity of NFκB

EA 575® is an ivy leaves dry extract (DER 5-7.5:1, 30% ethanol) used against diseases of the lower respiratory tract associated with productive cough. EA 575® improves symptoms associated with chronic inflammatory bronchial conditions. Compared to its bronchospasmolytic and secretolytic properties, the anti-inflammatory effects of EA 575® are mostly untried. Therefore, we addressed the question of whether the anti-inflammatory effect of EA 575® is due to an impact on the NFκB pathway. NFκB nuclear translocation was visualized by immunofluorescence in J774.2 as well as HEK293 cells. In the latter, a luciferase-based reporter was used to monitor NFκB transcriptional activity. Phosphorylation of RelA and its inhibitor IκB was measured by Western blot analysis. Additionally, changes in the stability of NFκB:IκB complex were shown by protein fragment complementation. Decreased transcriptional activity of NFκB under treatment with EA 575® was also shown for a human monocytic as well as a human lung epithelial cell line. EA 575® is able to inhibit NFκB transcriptional activity by partially inhibiting its translocation to the nucleus after stimulation with TNFα. Furthermore, phosphorylation of IκBα is reduced while phosphorylation of RelA is enhanced after pre-incubation with EA 575®, leading to an enhanced stability of NFκB:IκBα complex. EA 575® has an regulatory impact on the NFκB pathway, possibly by switching specificity of IKK from IκBα to RelA, resulting in enhanced stability of NFκB:IκBα complex and reduced RelA translocation into the nucleus.