Parthenolide modulates the NF-kappaB-mediated inflammatory responses in experimental atherosclerosis.
OBJECTIVE
Activation of transcription factor NF-kappaB is an important step in the development of vascular damage, because it controls inducible genes, including many inflammatory mediators. The pharmacological modulation of this process is the main objective in the design of new therapies for atherosclerosis. In this work we analyzed the effects of the natural compound parthenolide (PTN), an NF-kappaB inhibitor.


RESULTS
In vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and monocytes stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), nontoxic doses of PTN reduced IkappaBalpha degradation, NF-kappaB activation, and MCP-1 expression, without inhibiting AP-1 and MAPK. In apoE mice, treatment with low (2 mg/kg, 20 weeks), medium (4 mg/kg, 10 weeks), and high (10 mg/kg, 10 weeks) dose of PTN reduced the size of aortic lesion, decreased macrophage, and increased VSMC content in the lesions. Treated mice showed reduced serum levels of MCP-1 and attenuated NF-kappaB activity, but not AP-1, in the lesions. Moreover, PTN affects neither apoptotic cell death nor oxidative stress in cultured cells and mice.


CONCLUSIONS
NF-kappaB inhibition by PTN retards atherosclerotic lesions in apoE mice, by reducing lesion size and changing plaque composition. This natural compound could represent a novel therapeutic approach to inflammation during vascular damage.
López-Franco
Oscar
O
Renal and Vascular Research Laboratory, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Autónoma University, Avda. Reyes Católicos, 2 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Hernández-Vargas
Purificación
P
Ortiz-Muñoz
Guadalupe
G
Sanjuán
Guillermo
G
Suzuki
Yusuke
Y
Ortega
Luis
L
Blanco
Julia
J
Egido
Jesús
J
Gómez-Guerrero
Carmen
C
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000494:pharmacology*
D004041:Dietary Fats; D016328:NF-kappa B; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; C002669:parthenolide