neoisoliquiritin and Inflammation

Licorice is a widely used herbal medicine for the treatment of various diseases in southern Europe and parts of Asia. It has been reported that the isoliquiritin (ISL) from Glycyrrhiza root has the activity of promoting angiogenesis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ISL on the wound healing activity of zebrafish and its mechanism. 6-month-old zebrafish were injured in the skin (2 mm in diameter) and then treated with ISL. By measuring wound size and by histological examination, we found that ISL improved wound healing. In addition, 4-day-old zebrafish embryos of double transgenic line [Tg(fli-1:EGFP)]/[Tg(mpeg:mCherry)] were suffered from tissue traumas and then treated with ISL. Through fluorescent microscopy, we found that ISL promoted macrophage recruitment and angiogenesis in the wound area. Through qPCR analysis, we found that ISL up-regulated the expression of genes related to inflammation and angiogenesis in zebrafish embryos. These results showed that ISL could promote inflammatory response and angiogenesis, which played key roles in promoting wound healing. Therefore, ISL can be used as a promising candidate to promote wound healing.

Topics: Animals; Chalcone; Glucosides; Inflammation; Macrophages; Neovascularization, Physiologic; Plant Extracts; Plants, Medicinal; Skin; Wound Healing; Zebrafish

Membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) is a nephrotic syndrome which shows the symptoms of heavy proteinuria and immune complex deposition in glomerular sub-epithelial space and finally leads to chronic kidney disease. Isoliquiritin (ILQ) is a flavonoid with a wide range of pharmacological properties, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. The present study was undertaken to investigate the possible mechanisms by which ILQ ameliorates cationic bovine serum albumin (C-BSA) induced MGN in rat model.. The MGN condition was confirmed by the 24 hr proteinuria and ILQ (10 mg/kg/bw/day) or TPCA-1 (10 mg/kg/bw/day; IKKβ inhibitor) was administered to successfully induce rats for 4 weeks.. The present study revealed that MGN rats treated with ILQ showed significantly ameliorated kidney dysfunction and histopathological changes in kidneys. ILQ treated MGN rats alleviated the oxidative stress and were presented with increased anti-oxidative status in kidneys. Furthermore, ILQ treatment to MGN rats showed anti-oxidative effects through the prominent stimulation of Nrf2 signaling pathway and inhibition of Keap1, which consequently increases the Nrf2 nuclear translocation and thereby induces expression of NQO1 and HO-1. In addition, ILQ-treated MGN rats demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway through decreased mRNA and protein expressions of NF-κB p65, IKKβ, COX-2, iNOS, p38-MAPK, p-p38-MAPK, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8, ICAM-1, E-selectin and VCAM-1 and reduced the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65.. The protective effect of ILQ on MGN can be explained by its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities, which in turn due to the activation of Nrf2 and downregulation of NF-κB pathway.

Topics: Animals; Biomarkers; Cations; Chalcone; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Glomerulonephritis, Membranous; Glucosides; Inflammation; Injections, Intravenous; Male; Molecular Structure; Oxidative Stress; Protective Agents; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Serum Albumin, Bovine; Structure-Activity Relationship