Zerumbone suppresses high glucose and LPS-induced inflammation in THP-1-derived macrophages by inhibiting the NF-κB/TLR signaling pathway.

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by hyperglycemia. Low-grade bacterial infection with hyperglycemia in patients with diabetes is associated with atherosclerosis development. Therefore, this study hypothesized that macrophages lead to more severe diabetic complications under combined conditions of high glucose and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation than under normoglycemic conditions. Zerumbone is the main component of Zingiber zerumbet Smith essential oil, a type of wild ginger. It possesses various biomedical activities, including antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities; however, the precise mechanism of its anti-inflammatory and epigenetic effects is not fully understood. In this study, the effects of zerumbone on the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and its underlying regulatory mechanism were investigated in THP-1-derived macrophages exposed to high glucose and LPS. THP-1-derived macrophages were cultured under normoglycemic (5.5 mmol/L glucose) or hyperglycemic (25 mmol/L glucose) conditions in the absence or presence of zerumbone (5-50 µM) for 48 hours and then treated with 100 ng/mL LPS for 6 hours. Zerumbone (25 and 50 µM) suppressed the production of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 and the activation of cyclooxygenase-2, nuclear factor-κB, histone deacetylases 3 proteins, and Toll-like receptor messenger RNA (mRNA) and increased the transcription of the sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), SIRT3, and SIRT6 mRNAs. Taken together, our results suggest that zerumbone may exert beneficial effects on diabetes and its complications.