Effects of short-chain fatty acids on inflammatory responses in THP-1 cells and COPD mice / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

【Objective】 To explore the effects of anti-inflammatory of short-chain fatty acids in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells （THP-1） and chronic obstructive pulmonary （COPD） mice. 【Methods】 We adopted the methods of qRT-PCR， ELISA， Western blotting， HE staining and Sirius staining to detect the changes of inflammatory factors in THP-1 cells and COPD with or without short-chain fatty acids. 【Results】 The ELISA and qRT-PCR experiments showed that the serum inflammatory factors， including interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β） and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， were higher in clinical COPD patients than in healthy people. And the THP-1 cells expressed these inflammatory factors highly after LPS stimulation. Among three short-chain fatty acids treated， butyrate could reduce the levels of inflammatory factors better than acetate and propionate. After COPD mice were treated with butyrate in the drinking water， the mRNA expressions of inflammatory factors IL-6， IL-1β and TNF-α in the lung tissue decreased， and the concentrations of IL-6 and IL-1β in plasma decreased. The protein detection results showed that the phosphorylation expression of NF-κB decreased， and butyrate might inhibit the expressions of inflammatory factors by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway. 【Conclusion】 The SCFA butyrate can inhibit LPS-induced inflammatory response of THP-1 cells and have an inhibitory effect on inflammation in COPD mice.