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Anti-inflammatory Activity of Salvianolic Acid B in Microglia Contributes to its Neuroprotective Effect

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Abstract

This study examined whether Salvianolic acid B (Sal B), a major active component of Chinese herb Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, may exert an anti-inflammatory effect in microglia and may be neuroprotective by regulating microglial activation. Our results showed that Sal B significantly reduced the production of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment in rat primary microglia in a dose-dependent manner. Sal B had no effects on ATP-dependent IL-1β release and interferon (IFN)-γ-induced NO production. Sal B also suppressed LPS-induced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), TNF-α, and IL-1β mRNA expression, which was accompanied by inhibiting transcription factor NF-κB activation. Sal B could protect neurons through inhibition of microglial activation in a microglia-neuron coculture system. In conclusion, these data demonstrate that anti-inflammatory activity of Sal B in microglia contributes to its neuroprotective effect and suggest that it may be useful for preventing microglia-mediated neuroinflammation.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (30572348), the Project of Yunnan Province-Universties Cooperation (2006YX03), National Key Technology R&D Program (2007BAI47B04), University Science & Technology Program of Tianjin (20070314) and National Project 973 (2005CB523400).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacology, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 312 Anshanxi Road, 300193, Nankai District, Tianjin, China

    Shao-Xia Wang, Li-Min Hu, Hong Guo & Guan-Wei Fan

  2. Key Laboratory of Pharmacology of Traditional Chinese Medical Formulae, Ministry of Education, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China

    Shao-Xia Wang, Xiu-Mei Gao, Hong Guo & Guan-Wei Fan

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  1. Shao-Xia Wang
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  2. Li-Min Hu
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Correspondence to Li-Min Hu.

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Wang, SX., Hu, LM., Gao, XM. et al. Anti-inflammatory Activity of Salvianolic Acid B in Microglia Contributes to its Neuroprotective Effect. Neurochem Res 35, 1029–1037 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-010-0151-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-010-0151-1

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