Anti-inflammatory activity of carpinus tschonoskii leaves extract in R848-stimulated bone marrow-derived macrophages and dendritic cells

The present study aims to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of methanol extract from leaves of Carpinus tschonoskii (CE) on R848-stimulated primary bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) and dendritic cells (BMDCs). Primary BMDMs and BMDCs were used for pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Human embryonic kidney cell line 293T (HEK293T) was used to access NF-κB activity. In all cases, R848 was used to stimulate the cells. The CE (0~150 ug/ml) was treated to BMDMs, BMDCs, and HEK293T cells. CE pre-treatment in R848-stimulated BMDMs and BMDCs showed a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on pro-inflammatory cytokine (e.g., IL-12 p40, IL-6, and TNF-a) production as compared to non-treated controls. In NF-κB reporter gene assay, the CE pre-treatment inhibited NF-κB-dependent luciferase activity in a dose-dependent manner. Overall, our findings suggest that CE has significant inhibitory effect on pro-inflammatory cytokine production and deserve further studies concerning potentials of CE for medicinal uses.