Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Glabridin ameliorates DNFB-induced atopic dermatitis by suppressing MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathways in mice

Lu Cheng¹, Chuanqi Huang¹, Xin Xiong¹, Jie Jiang¹, Fuqian Wang¹, Dan Zhang¹, Shuting Liu², Yan Feng³, Song Hu¹ , Hong Zhang¹

¹Department of Pharmacy, Wuhan No. 1 Hospital (Wuhan Hospital of Traditional and Western Medicine), Wuhan, China; ²Department of Dermatology, Wuhan No. 1 Hospital (Wuhan Hospital of Traditional and Western Medicine), Wuhan, China; ³Department of Pathology, Wuhan No. 1 Hospital (Wuhan Hospital of Traditional and Western Medicine), Wuhan, China.

For correspondence:- Song Hu Email: huyaoshi@sina.com

Accepted: 27 February 2023 Published: 31 March 2023

Citation: Cheng L, Huang C, Xiong X, Jiang J, Wang F, Zhang D, et al. Glabridin ameliorates DNFB-induced atopic dermatitis by suppressing MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathways in mice. Trop J Pharm Res 2023; 22(3):525-533 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v22i3.9

© 2023 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the anti-inflammatory mechanism of action of glabridin (GBD) isolated from glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) using atopic dermatitis (AD) mouse model.

Methods: Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways were investigated. The dorsal skin and serum of 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB)-induced AD mice were used to determine the levels of various inflammatory cytokines, including interferon (IFN)-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-13, and immunoglobulin E (IgE) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The relative levels of inflammation-associated mRNA and signaling pathways were determined by real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blotting, respectively. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was used to assess the effect of GBD on tissue thickening and inflammatory cell infiltration in mice with AD.

Results: Glabridin significantly relieved dorsal skin thickening, scabbing, and bleeding, and reduced the infiltration of inflammatory cells in mice with AD (p < 0.05). The levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-13, and IgE were significantly reduced (p < 0.05 or 0.01). Moreover, the relative levels of IL-6 and IFN-γ mRNA showed a significant decrease (p < 0.01). Furthermore, GBD inhibited phosphorylation of MAPK signaling pathway and activation of NF-κB (p < 0.05 or 0.01).

Conclusion: Glabridin exerts an inhibitory effect on AD by blocking MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways. This finding highlights the relationship between traditional Chinese medicine and modern AD therapeutic methods, which should be further investigated for its potential to be developed as an external anti-AD medicine.

Keywords: Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizome, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Atopic dermatitis, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Inflammation