Paecilomyces hepiali Ethanol Extract Suppresses Interleukin-1β and Interleukin-18 Secretion by Inhibiting Both Canonical and Non-canonical Inflammasomes

• Main Authors: Yu Ju Chen, 陳昱如
• Other Authors: H. C. Lai
• Format: Others
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/61401480089920152658

碩士 === 長庚大學 === 醫學生物技術暨檢驗學系 === 101 === Cordyceps sinensis, one of the rare traditional Chinese medicines, has been used for therapeutic purposes in many Asian countries. It is a parasitic fungal infection of Lepidoptera larvae that endemic to alpine habitats. Since wild C. sinensis is rare and valuable, its cultural derivative Paecilomyces hepiali (PH) as a substitute has been used as an immunomodulator to treat diseases. Recent researches have provided evidences that PH extracts possess anti-tumor activity by boosting the immunity system; however, until now there have no report of PH extracts in regulating the activation of inflammasome. In the present study, human THP-1 macrophages were treated with ethanol extracts of PH followed by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) stimulation.Our results showed that pretreatment of PH extracts significantlysuppressed IL-1β and IL-18 releasing from LPS-primed andATP-stimulated macrophages. We also discovered that PH extracts notonly down-regulated expressions of NLRP3 inflammasome componentsand the upstream P2X7 receptor but also reduced the activation ofcaspase-4 and caspase-1, and ATP-induced ROS production. Thesefindings indicate that PH extracts can suppress the secretion of IL-1β andIL-18 through inhibiting both canonical and non-canonicalinflammasomes activation. The anti-inflammatory properties of PHextracts may therefore provide potential applications for inflammatorydiseases in the future.