The protective effects of 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid against inflammation microenvironment in gastric tumorigenesis targeting PGE2-EP2 receptor-mediated arachidonic acid pathway

Donghui Cao, Jing Jiang, Dan Zhao, Menghui Wu, Houjun Zhang, Tianyu Zhou, Tetsuya Tsukamoto, Masanobu Oshima, Quan Wang, Xueyuan Cao

Research output: Contribution to journalLetterpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Accumulating epidemiological and clinical evidence shows that inflammation is an important risk factor for gastrointestinal diseases. Glycyrrhiza glabra, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been shown to safely suppress gastric cancer; however, the anti-inflammatory mechanisms in gastric tumorigenesis have been poorly investigated. Therefore, this study is committed to demonstrate the in vivo anti-inflammatory effect of 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (GRA), the main active component of G. glabra. The lymphocytes and macrophages were heavily infiltrated in the transgenic mice that highly expressed cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and microsomal prostaglandin E synthase (mPGES)-1; however, a significant reduction was observed after treatment with GRA. In addition, GRA downregulated the protein levels of COX-2, GαS, EP2, and β-catenin, which were involved in the arachidonic acid pathway. In conclusion, our study showed the potential protective effects of GRA against inflammatory environment that might be involved in gastric tumorigenesis in vivo through the PGE2-EP2 receptor-mediated arachidonic acid pathway.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEuropean Journal of Inflammation
Volume16
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Immunology

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