Nootkatone attenuates airway inflammation in asthmatic mice through repressing ROS-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation

Nootkatone (NKT) exhibits potential pharmacological activities including anti-oxidation and anti-inflammation. Nevertheless, little is known about the roles of NKT in asthmatic airway inflammation. In the study, mice were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA) to establish experimental allergic asthma model. After treatment with NKT, lung tissues, peripheral blood, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected to assess inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress, and pathological alternations. The effects of NKT on regulating reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation was assessed in IL-13-treated BEAS-2B cell model. We found that NKT treatment decreased the production of Th2 inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) in BALF and IgE levels in serum, and alleviated inflammatory cell penetration, goblet cell proliferation, collagen accumulation, and mucus hypersecretion in lung tissues. NKT treatment mitigated oxidative stress and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in asthmatic mice. IL-13 treatment induced oxidative stress and NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis in BEAS-2B bronchial epithelial cells, whereas these effects were blocked by NKT. NKT protected against airway remodeling, as indicated by decreased epithelial–mesenchymal transition. Taken together, these results demonstrate that NKT mitigates asthmatic airway inflammation by inhibiting ROS-triggered NLRP3 activation and may be a potential agent for treating asthma.