Sodium houttuyfonate inhibits inflammation by blocking the MAPKs/NF-κB signaling pathways in bovine endometrial epithelial cells

Sodium houttuyfonate (SH) has traditionally been used for the therapy of inflammatory diseases. In this research, we tried to assess the anti-inflammatory effects of SH on LPS-induced bovine endometrial epithelial cell (bEEC) inflammation. SH cell toxicity was measured using the MIT and LDH assays, and inflammatory cytokine expression was assessed by ELISA, qRT-PCR and Western blotting. We demonstrated that SH was not cytotoxic to bEECs, and that it significantly decreased the LPS-induced mRNA and protein expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha, interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-6 and IL-8. Furthermore, in LPS-induced bEECs, SH inhibited I kappa B alpha degradation and NF-kappa B p65 phosphorylation, and suppressed the phosphorylation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), p38, c-Jun N-terminal ldnase (INK), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). In conclusion, we found that SH could effectively block the NF-kappa B-mediated signaling pathway and reduce the inflammatory process, thereby exerting a protective effect on bEECs. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.