Protective effect and mechanism of morroniside on TNF-α-induced MC3T3-E1 cells via inhibiting inflammation / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effects of morroniside extracted from root-bark of Sambucus williamsii on TNF-α-induced MC3T3-E1 cell inflammation, and explore its mechanism of action including Caspase, MAPK, and NF-κB signaling pathway. Methods MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured in medium containing TNF-α (50 ng/mL) and different doses of morroniside. The cell viability was examined by MTT assay, and the levels of IL-1β and IL-6 in the supernatants were identified by ELISA. The expressions of Caspase-3, Caspase-9, p-ERK, p-JNK, p-p38, p-IκBα, IκBα, and NF-κB on the protein level was tested by Western blotting. Results MTT assay results showed that morroniside could promote the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells and protect the MC3T3-E1 cells induced by TNF-α. ELISA results showed that the expressions of IL-1β and IL-6 were inhibited. Meanwhile, morroniside could reduce the expression of Caspase3, Caspase9, p-ERK, p-JNK, p-p38, and p-IκBα protein, and increase IκBα protein expression while there was no significant difference in the expression of NF-κB p65. Conclusion Morroniside has protective effect on TNF-α-induced MC3T3-E1 cells inflammation. The possible related mechanism is that morroniside inhibits the release of inflammatory cytokines, the activation of MAPK and NF-κB pathway, and the expression of Caspase, thereby inhibiting the apoptosis of MC3T3-E1 cells.