Protective effect and molecular mechanism of four isosteroid alkaloids from Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus on cigarette smoke extract-induced oxidative stress injury in A549 cells

Abstract

ABSTRACTFritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus (FCB) is a Chinese medicine that has been used to treat lung diseases for thousands of years. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect and mechanism of four alkaloids (peimisine, ebeiedinone, imperialine and chuanbeinone) from FCB on cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-induced oxidative injury in A549 cells. The results showed that the four alkaloids could increase the levels of glutathione/oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), decrease the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), thereby alleviating oxidative injury in CSE-induced A549 cells. Furthermore, after treated with four alkaloids, the mRNA expression of HO-1, NQO-1, Nrf2 and SIRT1 were increased, while MST1 and FOXO3 were decreased in CSE-induced A549 cells, which was consistent with the results of western blotting. These results suggest that the mechanism of the four alkaloids may be related to the regulation of Nrf2/Keap1 and SIRT1/FOXO3a signaling pathways.

Keywords

• Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus
• isosteroid alkaloids
• oxidative stress
• A549 cells