Objectives: Previously, we reported that diaryl diselenide compounds have strong inhibitory effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in macrophages. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying NO suppression and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) production by diaryl diselenide compounds, bis-(2-hydroxyphenyl) diselenide (DSE-A), bis-(3-hydroxyphenyl) diselenide (DSE-B), bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl) diselenide (DSE-C), dipyridyl diselenide (DSE-D) and diphenyl diselenide (DSE-E).
Methods: The effect of these compounds on NO suppression and PGE(2) production was investigated in RAW 264.7 macrophages.
Key findings: Our data indicate that of the above, DSE-B most potently inhibits NO and PGE(2) production, and that it also significantly reduces the releases of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin(IL)-1beta and IL-6. Consistent with these observations, DSE-B also reduced the protein levels of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and the mRNA levels of iNOS, COX-2, TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6. Furthermore, DSE-B inhibited LPS-induced nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation, which was associated with the prevention of the inhibitor kappaB-alpha (IkappaB-alpha) degradation and a subsequent reduction in nuclear p65 protein levels.
Conclusions: Taken together, our data suggest that the anti-inflammatory properties of DSE-B are due to reduction in the expression of iNOS, COX-2, TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6 through the down-regulation of NF-kappaB binding activity.