Sulforaphane may be useful as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Sulforaphane inhibits TNF-alpha-induced activation of p38 MAP kinase and VCAM-1 and MCP-1 expression in endothelial cells.
Inflamm Res. 2009 Aug;58(8):513-21. Epub 2009 Mar 11. PMID: 19277846
Discovery Research, AtheroGenics, Inc., 8995 Westside Parkway, Alpharetta, GA 30004, USA. xchen@atherogenics.com
OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: To investigate the effects of sulforaphane on endothelial inflammatory gene expression in endothelial cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human aortic endothelial cells were used in the study. RESULTS: One-hour pretreatment of endothelial cells (EC) with sulforaphane (1-4 muM) suppressed TNF-alpha-induced MCP-1 and VCAM-1 mRNA and protein levels, but had no effect on TNF-alpha-induced ICAM-1 expression. Sulforaphane also inhibited TNF-alpha-induced activation of p38 MAP kinase, but not c-Jun-N-terminal kinase. Sulforaphane had no effect on TNF-alpha-induced NF-kappaB nuclear binding activity, IkappaB-alpha degradation or activation of NF-kappaB-driven transcriptional activity. Expression of dominant negative Nrf2 inhibited sulforaphane-induced antioxidant response element (ARE)-driven promoter activity, but had no effect on sulforaphane-mediated inhibition of VCAM-1 and MCP-1 expression. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that sulforaphane may be useful as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.