Sodium houttuyfonate inhibits LPS­induced mastitis in mice via the NF­κB signalling pathway.

ABSTRACT

Sodium houttuyfonate (SH) has been indicated to play an important anti­inflammatory role. Previous studies have confirmed that SH can inhibit the NF­κB pathway in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)­induced mastitis in bovine mammary epithelial cells. However, the effects of SH on LPS­induced mastitis in animals should be verified to further evaluate its actual value. In the present study, the anti­inflammatory effects of SH were investigated in mouse models and a mouse mammary epithelial cell line. Hematoxylin and eosin staining (H&E) showed that SH therapy significantly alleviated the pathological changes in mammary glands. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity analysis demonstrated that SH substantially decreased MPO activity in vivo. RT­qPCR results showed that SH reduced the expression of interleukin (IL)­1, IL­6 and tumor necrosis factor α both in vivo and in vitro. In addition, western blot results indicated that SH suppressed the phosphorylation of nuclear factor kappa­light­chain­enhancer of activated B­cells (NF­κB) p65 protein and reduced the degradation of inhibitor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B­cells alpha protein in vivo and in vitro. These results demonstrated that SH ameliorates LPS­induced mastitis by inhibiting the NF­κB pathway.