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Folic acid inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory response in RAW264.7 macrophages by suppressing MAPKs and NF-κB activation

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Abstract

Objective

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of folic acid on the inflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW264.7 cells and the signal transduction pathways involved.

Methods

RAW264.7 macrophages were used. The production of nitric oxide (NO) was determined by the Griess test. The protein levels and mRNA expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) were determined by ELISA and RT-PCR, respectively. The phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and nuclear nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) p65 protein were analyzed by Western blotting.

Results

Folic acid inhibited LPS-induced production of NO, TNF-α and IL-1β with decreased mRNAs of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), TNF-α and IL-1β. Further study showed that folic acid inhibited the LPS-induced phosphorylation of MAPKs and the nuclear translocation of NF-κB.

Conclusion

Folic acid inhibits the inflammatory response of RAW 264.7 cells to LPS through inhibiting the MAPKs and NF-κB pathways.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30872101).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, 510080, People’s Republic of China

    Dan Feng

  2. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University (Northern Campus), 74 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, 510080, People’s Republic of China

    Dan Feng, Yan Zhou, Min Xia & Jing Ma

Authors
  1. Dan Feng
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  2. Yan Zhou
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  3. Min Xia
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  4. Jing Ma
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jing Ma.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Liwu Li.

D. Feng and Y. Zhou are contributed equally to this work.

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Feng, D., Zhou, Y., Xia, M. et al. Folic acid inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory response in RAW264.7 macrophages by suppressing MAPKs and NF-κB activation. Inflamm. Res. 60, 817–822 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-011-0337-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-011-0337-2

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