Effect of Chelerythrine Against Endotoxic Shock in Mice and Its Modulation of Inflammatory Mediators in Peritoneal Macrophages Through the Modulation of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) Pathway

A quaternary benzo [c] alkaloid chelerythrine (CHE), which is a traditional herbal prescription, has been used for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases. To gain insight into the anti-inflammatory effect and molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory activity of CHE, we used experimentally induced mice endotoxic shock moled and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced murine peritoneal macrophages to examine the anti-inflammatory function of CHE. CHE displayed significant anti-inflammatory effects in experimentally induced mice endotoxic shock model in vivo through inhibition of LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) level and nitric oxide (NO) production in serum. Additionally, our data suggest that CHE treatment inhibits LPS-induced TNF-alpha level and NO production in LPS-induced murine peritoneal macrophages through selective inhibition of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) activation. Moreover, the effects of CHE on NO and cytokine TNF-alpha production can possibly be explained by the role of p38 MAPK and ERK1/2 in the regulation of inflammatory mediators expression.