Genistein, the main soy isoflavone component, has received much attention for its potential multifunction. Here, we reported that in BV-2 cells, genistein significantly inhibited beta amyloid peptides 25-35 (Aβ25-35)-induced inflammatory response. The results indicated that Aβ25-35-stimulated BV-2 cells upregulated Toll-like receptors 2 and 4, Myd88, and IKK gene expression with the increasing expression of IL-6 and decreasing expression of TGF-β and IL-10. Further, inhibiting TLR4 expression with small interfering RNA prevented the inflammatory response induced by Aβ25-35, indicating the key role of TLRs in Aβ-mediated inflammation. Genistein pre-treated BV-2 cells showed less inflammatory response when exposed to Aβ25-35. These results suggested that Aβ induced BV-2 cells inflammation though TLRs and genistein has an anti-inflammatory effect in vitro.
