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Effects of Citral on Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Inflammation volume 39, pages 663–671 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

Citral is an active compound of lemongrass oil which has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of citral on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory response in a rat model of peritonitis and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). LPS was intraperitoneally injected into rats to establish a peritonitis model. The HUVECs were treated with citral for 12 h before exposure to LPS. The levels of TNF-α and IL-8 were measured using ELISA. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of VCAM-1, ICAM-1, NF-κB, and PPAR-γ. The results showed that citral had a protective effect against LPS-induced peritonitis. Citral decreased the levels of WBCs and inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6. Citral also inhibited LPS-induced myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in the peritoneal tissue. Treatment of HUVECs with citral significantly inhibited TNF-α and IL-8 expression induced by LPS. LPS-induced VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 expression were also suppressed by citral. Meanwhile, we found that citral inhibited LPS-induced NF-κB activation in HUVECs. Furthermore, we found that citral activated PPAR-γ and the anti-inflammatory effects of citral can be reversed by PPAR-γ antagonist GW9662. In conclusion, citral inhibits LPS-induced inflammatory response via activating PPAR-γ which attenuates NF-κB activation and inflammatory mediator production.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the science and technology development plan of Henan province (No. 122300410184).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Vascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan province, China

    Yan Song, Hongfeng Zhao, Jinyang Liu, Chao Fang & Renying Miao

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  1. Yan Song
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  2. Hongfeng Zhao
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  3. Jinyang Liu
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  5. Renying Miao
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Correspondence to Yan Song.

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The experiments were approved by the Zhengzhou University Animal Care and Use Committee.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Song, Y., Zhao, H., Liu, J. et al. Effects of Citral on Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells. Inflammation 39, 663–671 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10753-015-0292-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10753-015-0292-0

KEY WORDS

  • citral
  • human umbilical vein endothelial cells
  • peritonitis
  • NF-κB
  • PPAR-γ