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Research Paper|Volume 11, Issue 21|pp 9310—9327

Baicalein attenuates OVA-induced allergic airway inflammation through the inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway

Tingting Xu1,2, Xiangting Ge1, Chun Lu1, Wei Dai1, Hongjin Chen2, Zhongxiang Xiao3, Liqin Wu1, Guang Liang2, Songmin Ying1,4, Yali Zhang2,3, Yuanrong Dai1
  • 1The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
  • 2Chemical Biology Research Center, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
  • 3Affiliated Yueqing Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
  • 4Department of Pharmacology and Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Second Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Respiratory Diseases, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
* Equal contribution
Received: June 9, 2018Accepted: October 12, 2019Published: November 6, 2019
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.102371

Copyright © 2019 Xu et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Asthma is a type of chronic lung inflammation with restrictions in effective therapy. NF-κB pathway activation has been suggested to play an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma. Baicalein, one of the major active flavonoids found in Scutellaria baicalensis, exhibits potent anti-inflammatory properties by inhibiting NF-κB activity. Herein, we report that Baicalein significantly reduces OVA-induced airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), airway inflammation, serum IgE levels, mucus production, and collagen deposition around the airway. Additionally, western blot analysis and immunofluorescence assay showed that Baicalein attenuates the activation of NF-κB, which was mainly reflected by IκBα phosphorylation and degradation, p65 nuclear translocation and downstream iNOS expression. Furthermore, in human epithelial cells, Baicalein blocked TNF-α-induced NF-κB activation. Our study provides evidence that Baicalein administration alleviates the pathological changes in asthma through inactivating the NF-κB/iNOS pathway. Baicalein might be a promising potential therapy agent for patients with allergic asthma in the future.