• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.553-559
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• 2018

Investigations into the development of new therapeutic agents for lung inflammatory disorders have led to the discovery of plant-based alternatives. The rhizomes of Anemarrhena asphodeloides have a long history of use against lung inflammatory disorders in traditional herbal medicine. However, the therapeutic potential of this plant material in animal models of lung inflammation has yet to be evaluated. In the present study, we prepared the alcoholic extract and derived the saponin-enriched fraction from the rhizomes of A. asphodeloides and isolated timosaponin A-III, a major constituent. Lung inflammation was induced by intranasal administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to mice, representing an animal model of acute lung injury (ALI). The alcoholic extract (50-200 mg/kg) inhibited the development of ALI. Especially, the oral administration of the saponin-enriched fraction (10-50 mg/kg) potently inhibited the lung inflammatory index. It reduced the total number of inflammatory cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Histological changes in alveolar wall thickness and the number of infiltrated cells of the lung tissue also indicated that the saponin-enriched fraction strongly inhibited lung inflammation. Most importantly, the oral administration of timosaponin A-III at 25-50 mg/kg significantly inhibited the inflammatory markers observed in LPS-induced ALI mice. All these findings, for the first time, provide evidence supporting the effectiveness of A. asphodeloides and its major constituent, timosaponin A-III, in alleviating lung inflammation.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.91-104
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• 2017

Acute bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) are essentially lung inflammatory disorders. Various plant extracts and their constituents showed therapeutic effects on several animal models of lung inflammation. These include coumarins, flavonoids, phenolics, iridoids, monoterpenes, diterpenes and triterpenoids. Some of them exerted inhibitory action mainly by inhibiting the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway and nuclear transcription $factor-{\kappa}B$ activation. Especially, many flavonoid derivatives distinctly showed effectiveness on lung inflammation. In this review, the experimental data for plant extracts and their constituents showing therapeutic effectiveness on animal models of lung inflammation are summarized.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.62-67
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• 2014

This study was designed to find some potential natural products and/or constituents inhibiting proinflammatory cytokine generation in lung inflammation, since cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are pivotal for provoking airway inflammation. In our preliminary screening procedure, the 70% ethanol extract of the leaves of Perilla frutescens (PFE) was found to clearly inhibit TNF-${\alpha}$ production in the lung at 100 mg/kg, after intranasal lipopolysaccharide treatment of mice. Based on this result, ten constituents including phenylpropanoids (allyltetramethoxybenzene, caffeic acid, dillapiole, elemicin, myristicin, nothoapiole, rosmarinic acid methyl ester, rosmarinic acid) and monoterpenes (perilla aldehyde and perilla ketone) were successfully isolated from the extract. Among them, elemicin and myristicin were found for the first time to concentration-dependently inhibit IL-$1{\beta}$-treated IL-6 production from lung alveolar epithelial cells (A549) at concentrations of $10-100{\mu}M$. These findings suggest that the phenylpropanoids including elemicin and myristicin have the potential to be new inhibitory agents against lung inflammation and they may contribute, at least in part, to the inhibitory activity of PFE on the lung inflammatory response.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.175-176
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• 2002

Airway inflammation is a characteristic of many lung disorders including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. All these diseases involve the recruitment of immune and inflammatory cells to the lungs leading to systemic and local chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. (omitted)

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.318-326
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• 2019

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) levels are often found to be elevated in serum, bronchoalveolar lavage, and lung tissue of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients and experimental mouse models. Although the roles of sphingosine kinase 1 and S1P receptors have been implicated in fibrosis, the underlying mechanism of fibrosis via Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 2 ($S1P_2$) has not been fully investigated. Therefore, in this study, the roles of $S1P_2$ in lung inflammation and fibrosis was investigated by means of a bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis model and lung epithelial cells. Bleomycin was found to induce lung inflammation on day 7 and fibrosis on day 28 of treatment. On the $7^{th}$ day after bleomycin administration, $S1P_2$ deficient mice exhibited significantly less pulmonary inflammation, including cell infiltration and pro-inflammatory cytokine induction, than the wild type mice. On the $28^{th}$ day after bleomycin treatment, severe inflammation and fibrosis were observed in lung tissues from wild type mice, while lung tissues from $S1P_2$ deficient mice showed less inflammation and fibrosis. Increase in TGF-${\beta}1$-induced extracellular matrix accumulation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition were inhibited by JTE-013, a $S1P_2$ antagonist, in A549 lung epithelial cells. Taken together, pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic functions of $S1P_2$ were elucidated using a bleomycin-induced fibrosis model. Notably, $S1P_2$ was found to mediate epithelial-mesenchymal transition in fibrotic responses. Therefore, the results of this study indicate that $S1P_2$ could be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.344-353
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• 2020

This study aims to develop new potential therapeutic moracin M prodrugs acting on lung inflammatory disorders. Potential moracin M prodrugs (KW01-KW07) were chemically synthesized to obtain potent orally active derivatives, and their pharmacological activities against lung inflammation were, for the first time, examined in vivo using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury model. In addition, the metabolism of KW02 was also investigated using microsomal stability test and pharmacokinetic study in rats. When orally administered, some of these compounds (30 mg/kg) showed higher inhibitory action against LPS-induced lung inflammation in mice compared to moracin M. Of them, 2-(3,5-bis((dimethylcarbamoyl)oxy)phenyl)benzofuran-6-yl acetate (KW02) showed potent and dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the same animal model of lung inflammation at 1, 3, and 10 mg/kg. This compound at 10 mg/kg also significantly reduced IL-1β concentration in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of the inflamed-lungs. KW02 was rapidly metabolized to 5-(6-hydroxybenzofuran-2-yl)-1,3-phenylene bis(dimethylcarbamate) (KW06) and moracin M when it was incubated with rat serum and liver microsome as expected. When KW02 was administered to rats via intravenous or oral route, KW06 was detected in the serum as a metabolite. Thus, it is concluded that KW02 has potent inhibitory action against LPS-induced lung inflammation. It could behave as a potential prodrug of moracin M to effectively treat lung inflammatory disorders.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.67-74
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• 2016

In order to find potential therapeutic agents on lung inflammatory conditions, the extracts of Acanthopanax divaricatus var. albeofructus were prepared and its constituents were isolated. They include lignans such as (+)-syringaresinol (1), acanthoside B (2), salvadoraside (3) and acanthoside D (4), lariciresinol-9-O-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranoside (5) and phenylpropanoids such as 4-[(1E)-3-methoxy-1-propenyl]phenol (6), coniferin (7), and methyl caffeate (8). The extracts and several constituents such as compound 1, 6 and 8 inhibited the production of inflammatory markers, IL-6 and nitric oxide, from IL-$1{\beta}$-treated lung epithelial cells and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated alveolar macrophages. Furthermore, the extracts and compound 4 significantly inhibited lung inflammation in lipolysaccharide-treated acute lung injury in mice by oral administration. Thus it is suggested that A. divaricatus var. albeofructus and its several constituents may be effective against lung inflammation.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.78 no.1
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• pp.8-17
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• 2015

Background: AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) not only functions as an intracellular energy sensor and regulator, but is also a general sensor of oxidative stress. Furthermore, there is recent evidence that it participates in limiting acute inflammatory reactions, apoptosis and cellular senescence. Thus, it may oppose the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methods: To investigate the role of AMPK in cigarette smoke-induced lung inflammation and emphysema we first compared cigarette smoking and polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid [poly(I:C)]-induced lung inflammation and emphysema in $AMPK{\alpha}1$-deficient ($AMPK{\alpha}1$-HT) mice and wild-type mice of the same genetic background. We then investigated the role of AMPK in the induction of interleukin-8 (IL-8) by cigarette smoke extract (CSE) in A549 cells. Results: Cigarette smoking and poly(I:C)-induced lung inflammation and emphysema were elevated in $AMPK{\alpha}1$-HT compared to wild-type mice. CSE increased AMPK activation in a CSE concentration- and time-dependent manner. 5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-${\beta}$-4-ribofuranoside (AICAR), an AMPK activator, decreased CSE-induced IL-8 production while Compound C, an AMPK inhibitor, increased it, as did pretreatment with an $AMPK{\alpha}1$-specific small interfering RNA. Conclusion: $AMPK{\alpha}1$-deficient mice have increased susceptibility to lung inflammation and emphysema when exposed to cigarette smoke, and AMPK appears to reduce lung inflammation and emphysema by lowering IL-8 production.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.324-330
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• 2011

Broussonetia papyrifera and Lonicera japonica have long been used in the treatment of inflammatory disorders, especially respiratory inflammation, in Chinese medicine. Previously, phytoformula (BL) containing B. papyrifera and L. japonica was found to exert strong anti-inflammatory activity in vitro and in vivo. In this study, the effects of BL on lung inflammation including bronchitis were examined in vitro and in vivo. BL (10-100 ${\mu}g$/ml) inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated alveolar macrophages, MH-S cells, primarily by down-regulating inducible NO synthase. BL also inhibited production of the proinflammatory cytokines, TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-6. Against an animal model of pleural cavity inflammation, BL (200-400 mg/kg) significantly inhibited 5 h and 24 h carrageenan-induced pleurisy in rats when administered orally. Additionally, BL inhibited experimental bronchitis induced by intratracheal instillation of LPS to rats. Taken together, these results indicate that BL may be effective for the treatment of human lung inflammation as well as bronchitis.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.77-88
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• 2024

Background: Lung inflammation occurs in many lung diseases, but has limited effective therapeutics. Ginseng and its derivatives have anti-inflammatory effects, but their unstable physicochemical and metabolic properties hinder their application in the treatment. Panaxadiol (PD) is a stable saponin among ginsenosides. Inhalation administration may solve these issues, and the specific mechanism of action needs to be studied. Methods: A mouse model of lung inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an in vitro macrophage inflammation model, and a coculture model of epithelial cells and macrophages were used to study the effects and mechanisms of inhalation delivery of PD. Pathology and molecular assessments were used to evaluate efficacy. Transcriptome sequencing was used to screen the mechanism and target. Finally, the efficacy and mechanism were verified in a human BALF cell model. Results: Inhaled PD reduced LPS-induced lung inflammation in mice in a dose-dependent manner, including inflammatory cell infiltration, lung tissue pathology, and inflammatory factor expression. Meanwhile, the dose of inhalation was much lower than that of intragastric administration under the same therapeutic effect, which may be related to its higher bioavailability and superior pharmacokinetic parameters. Using transcriptome analysis and verification by a coculture model of macrophage and epithelial cells, we found that PD may act by inhibiting TNFA/TNFAR and IL7/IL7R signaling to reduce macrophage inflammatory factor-induced epithelial apoptosis and promote proliferation. Conclusion: PD inhalation alleviates lung inflammation and pathology by inhibiting TNFA/TNFAR and IL7/IL7R signaling between macrophages and epithelial cells. PD may be a novel drug for the clinical treatment of lung inflammation.