Effect of Baicalin on Activity of NF-κB and Expression of Inflammatory Cytokines in LPS-stimulated Macrophage Cells

Objective:To investigate the inhibitory effects of baicalin on the activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and investigate the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in macrophage cell lines RAW264.7 induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Methods: RAW264.7 cells were cultured in vitro, and treated with different concentration of baicalin in the presence or absence of LPS for different time. The mRNA and protein expression of TNF-αand IL-6 were determined by RT-PCR and Elisa, respectively. The expression of NF-κB p65 in the nuclei was determined by Western Blot. Results: The expression of TNF-α and IL-6 were markedly up-regulated and the expression of NF-κB p65 also significantly increased in macrophage cells stimulated with LPS. Pretreated with baicalin inhibited LPS-induced TNF-α and IL-6 expression in both mRNA and protein levels, as well reduced the activation of NF-κβ. Conclusions: Baicalin effectively down regulated TNF-α and IL-6 expression in LPS-induced macrophage cells by inhibited the activation of NF-κβ. which may be one of its antiatherosis actions.