ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of extract of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (SGE) and underlying mechanism by using LPS-induced microglial BV2 cells. METHODS: MTT assay was used to observe the cell viability. The content of NO in cell supernatant was measured by Griess reagent. The levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were detected by ELISA kits. The intracellular TLR4 expression was assayed by Western blotting. RESULTS: The levels of NO, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly increased induced by LPS in the supernatant of BV2 cells (all P < 0.01). However, co-treatment with SGE 100 μg•mL-1 significantly decreased the production of related inflammatory factors including NO (P < 0.01), IL-1β(P < 0.01), IL-6 (P < 0.01) and TNF-α (P < 0.05). Furthermore, SGE significantly inhibited the TLR4 expression induced by LPS in BV2 cells. CONCLUSION: SGE is able to alleviate LPS-induced inflammatory responses in BV2 cells through down-regulation of TLR4 protein expression suggesting that SGE has therapeutic potential for the treatment of neuroinflammatory diseases.