Frontiers in Pharmacology (Oct 2022)

Bergenin ameliorates airway inflammation and remodeling in asthma by activating SIRT1 in macrophages to regulate the NF-κB pathway

  • Dan Huang,
  • Dan Huang,
  • Chaoqun Sun,
  • Min Chen,
  • Shuyou Bai,
  • Xuanna Zhao,
  • Weiming Wang,
  • Kang Geng,
  • Wenbo Huang,
  • Tingting Zhao,
  • Bin Wu,
  • Guilin Zhang,
  • Dong Wu,
  • Youhua Xu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.994878
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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Airway inflammation and remodeling are critical pathological changes in asthma, and macrophage activation plays a vital role in this process. Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) reduces airway inflammation by affecting macrophages in asthma. This study aimed to investigate the potential benefit and underlying mechanism of the SIRT1 agonist bergenin as a treatment for asthma. We performed in vivo and in vitro experiments by establishing a Sirt1fl/fl-LysMcre mouse asthma model and using the alveolar macrophage-like cell line MH-S, respectively. Our results show that Sirt1fl/fl-LysMcre asthmatic mice exhibited more severe airway inflammation and airway remodeling than wild-type mice. As an activator of SIRT1, bergenin attenuated asthmatic airway pathology and reduced production of interleukins 1β, IL-5, IL-6, and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) in wild-type asthmatic mice. However, the therapeutic effects of bergenin were significantly attenuated in Sirt1fl/fl-LysMcre asthmatic mice or following coadministration with the SIRT1 inhibitor EX-527. Further experiments showed that activation of SIRT1 by bergenin deacetylates nuclear factor κB and hinders its nuclear translocation, thereby affecting IL-1β, IL-5, IL-6, and MMP-9 production by regulating transcriptional activity. Our study suggests that bergenin can improve asthma-induced airway inflammation and remodeling by activating SIRT1 in macrophages.

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