Aucubin ameliorates the LPS‐induced inflammatory response in bovine endometrial epithelial cells by inhibiting NF‐κB and activating the Keap1/Nrf2 signalling pathway

Abstract Cows are susceptible to pathogenic bacterial infection after pregnancy, leading to inflammation of the endometrium. Aucubin (AU) has been proven to exhibit highly effective anti‐inflammatory activity, but its ability to protect against endometritis in dairy cows remains unclear. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to evaluate the protective effect of AU on the LPS‐induced inflammatory response of bovine endometrial epithelial cells (BEECs). After pre‐treating BEECs with AU (10, 20 and 50 μM) for 6 hr, the cells were stimulated with LPS for 3 hr. Subsequently, BEECs apoptosis was analysed by flow cytometry, the expression of pro‐inflammatory cytokine mRNA was detected by qRT‐PCR, and changes in NF‐κB and Keap1/Nrf2 signalling were analysed by western blotting and immunofluorescence analyses. The results showed that AU can reduce TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6, COX‐2 and iNOS mRNA expression in BEECs and reduce cell apoptosis. Furthermore, AU significantly reduced the level of NF‐κB p65 and IκB phosphorylation and inhibited the nuclear translocation of NF‐κB p65. AU also activated the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway, promoting the nuclear transfer of Nrf2 and increasing Keap1, Nrf2, HO‐1 and NQO1 mRNA and protein levels. Taken together, these results indicate that AU ameliorates the LPS‐induced inflammatory response by inhibiting NF‐κB and activating the Keap1/Nrf2 signalling pathway, which has a protective effect on BEECs.