Down-regulation of complement genes in lipopolysaccharide-challenged zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae exposed to Indonesian propolis.

ABSTRACT

Although propolis has been reported for having anti-inflammatory activities, its effects on complement system has not been much studied. This research was conducted to find out the effects of Indonesian propolis on the expression levels of C3, C1r/s, Bf, MBL, and C6 in zebrafish larvae which were induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Counting of macrophages migrating to yolk sac and liver histology were carried out. Larvae were divided into four groups CON (cultured in E3 medium only), LPS (cultured in a medium containing 0.5 µg/L LPS), LPSIBU (cultured in a medium containing LPS, and then treated with 100 µg/L ibuprofen for 24 hours), and LPSPRO (cultured in a medium containing LPS, and then immersed in 14,000 µg/L propolis for 24 hours) groups. The results showed that complement gene expression in larvae from the LPSIBU and LPSPRO groups were generally lower than in larvae from the LPS group. The number of macrophage migrations to the yolk in the LPSPRO group was also lower than in the LPS group. Histological structure of liver in all groups were considered normal. This study shows that Indonesian propolis has the potential to be used as an alternative to the substitution of NSAIDs.