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Hydroxytyrosol inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokines, iNOS, and COX-2 expression in human monocytic cells

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Abstract

Hydroxytyrosol (HT), isolated from extra-virgin olive oil, possesses a marked antioxidant activity and is a good radical scavenger. In this study, our aim was to examine the anti-inflammatory mechanism of HT through measuring the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression, TNF-α formation, and nitric oxide (NO) release in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced human monocytic (THP-1) cells. Results showed that HT remarkably suppressed the LPS (1 μg/ml) induction of NO release. It also significantly attenuated the LPS-induced transcription of TNF-α, iNOS, and COX-2 in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, it was also found that HT in a concentration-dependent manner inhibited the expression of iNOS and COX-2 in THP-1 cells treated with 1 μg/ml LPS using Western Blot. Taken together, these results suggest that HT exerts anti-inflammatory effects probably through the suppression of COX-2 and iNOS expression.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Ling Li and Shen Lv in Central Laboratory of second affiliated hospital of Dalian Medical University for instrumental assistance. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30771820).

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Correspondence to Laifu Zhong.

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Zhang, X., Cao, J. & Zhong, L. Hydroxytyrosol inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokines, iNOS, and COX-2 expression in human monocytic cells. Naunyn-Schmied Arch Pharmacol 379, 581–586 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00210-009-0399-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00210-009-0399-7

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