Beta-naphthoflavone inhibits LPS-induced inflammation in BV-2 cells via AKT/Nrf-2/HO-1-NF-κB signaling axis

Numerous studies have shown that over-activation of microglia could cause neuroinflammation and release pro-inflammatory mediators, which could result in neurodegenerative diseases, like Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease etc. Beta-naphthoflavone (BNF) has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in borderline tissues, but BNF has not been reported the effect associated with neuroinflammation. Therefore, the purpose of this experiment is to inquiry the impact and mechanism of BNF on neuroinflammation. The results indicated that BNF significantly inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory mediators (inducible nitric-oxide synthase (iNOS), Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) andinterleukin-6 (IL-6)) in LPS-exposed BV-2 cells. Analysis of western blot results found that BNF accelerated the activation of AKT/Nrf-2/HO-1 signaling pathway and suppressed NF-κB pathway activation. Further study showed that BNF inhibited activation of NF-κB pathway via promoting HO-1, and SnPP IX (a HO-1 inhibitor) could inhibit anti-inflammatory function of BNF. We also found that BNF reduced the apoptosis rate of Human neuroblastoma cells (SHSY5Y) and mouse hippocampal neuron cell line (HT22) by inhibiting release of inflammatory mediators in LPS-exposed BV2 cells. In a word, our results suggested that BNF could inhibit inflammatory response via AKT/Nrf-2/HO-1-NF-κB signaling axis in BV-2 cells and exerts neuroprotective impact via inhibiting the activation of BV2 cells.