The aim of the present study was to determine whether or not lipopolysaccharide from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans could stimulate arginase activity in a murine macrophage cell line (RAW264.7 cells).
Antibacterial photodynamic therapy (PDT) has come to attract attention as an alternative therapy for drug-resistant bacteria. Recent reports revealed that antibacterial PDT induces innate immune response and stimulates abundant cytokine secretion as a part of inflammatory responses. However, the underlying mechanism how antibacterial PDT interacts with immune cells responsible for cytokine secretion has not been well outlined. In this study, we aimed to clarify the difference in gene expression and cytokine secretion between combined culture of fibroblasts and macrophages and their independent cultures. SCRC-1008, mouse fibroblast cell line and J774, mouse macrophage-like cell line were co-cultured and PDT treatments with different parameters were carried out. After various incubation periods (1-24 h), cells and culture medium were collected, and mRNA and protein levels for cytokines were measured using real-time PCR and ELISA, respectively. Our results showed that fibroblasts and macrophages interact with each other to mediate the immune response. We propose that fibroblasts initially respond to PDT by expressing Hspa1b, which regulates the NF-κB pathway via Tlr2 and Tlr4. Activation of the NF-κB pathway then results in an enhanced secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β) and neutrophil chemoattractant MIP-2 and KC from macrophages.
Our preliminary screening has shown that curcumin derivative BDMC33 [2,6-bis(2,5-dimethoxybenzylidene)cyclohexanone] exerted promising nitric oxide inhibitory activity in activated macrophages. However, the molecular basis and mechanism for its pharmacological action is yet to be elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory properties of BDMC33 and elucidate its underlying mechanism action in macrophage cells. Our current study demonstrated that BDMC33 inhibits the secretion of major pro-inflammatory mediators in stimulated macrophages, and includes NO, TNF-α and IL-1β through interference in both nuclear factor kappaB (NF-κB) and mitogen activator protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade in IFN-γ/LPS-stimulated macrophages. Moreover, BDMC33 also interrupted LPS signaling through inhibiting the surface expression of CD-14 accessory molecules. In addition, the inhibitory action of BDMC33 not only restricted the macrophages cell (RAW264.7), but also inhibited the secretion of NO and TNF-α in IFN-γ/LPS-challenged microglial cells (BV-2). The experimental data suggests the inflammatory action of BDMC33 on activated macrophage-like cellular systems, which could be used as a future therapeutic agent in the management of chronic inflammatory diseases.