Blueberries reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α and IL-6 production in mouse macrophages by inhibiting NF-κB activation and the MAPK pathway
✍ Scribed by Chenghui Xie; Jie Kang; Matthew E. Ferguson; Shanmugam Nagarajan; Thomas M. Badger; Xianli Wu
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2011
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 210 KB
- Volume
- 55
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1613-4125
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Abstract
Blueberries (BB) have been reported to attenuate atherosclerosis in apoE‐deficient (ApoE^−/−^) mice. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of BB in reducing pro‐inflammatory cytokine production in mouse macrophages. ApoE^−/−^ mice were fed AIN‐93G diet (CD) or CD formulated to contain 1% freeze‐dried BB for 5 wk. TNF‐α and IL‐6 were lower in serum of BB‐fed mice and TNF‐α expression in aorta was down‐regulated with BB feeding. Protein level and mRNA expression of TNF‐α and IL‐6 were significantly lower in the peritoneal macrophages from mice fed BB without or with LPS or oxLDL stimulation. RAW264.7 macrophages were treated with polyphenol‐enriched extracts made from the sera of rats fed CD (SEC) or CD containing 10% BB (SEB). SEB significantly inhibited LPS‐induced mRNA expression and protein levels of TNF‐α and IL‐6. Furthermore, SEB inhibited the phosphorylation of IκB, NF‐κB p65, MAPK p38 and JNK. All of these are important signaling pathways involved in the production of TNF‐α and IL‐6.