Tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α)‐induced cell adhesion was inhibited by an aqueous extract of Buddleia officinalis in HUVECs

Abstract

Cell adhesion is involved in the initiation and progression of cardiovascular disease including atherosclerosis. While conducting an in vitro screening of 600 medicinal plant extracts, an aqueous extract of Buddleia officinalis (ABO) was found to exhibit an anti-vascular inflammatory activity in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). In the present study, therefore, the anti-vascular inflammatory activity of ABO and possible mechanisms responsible for this effect were investigated in HUVECs. Preincubation of HUVECs with ABO (10 μg/ml) suppressed the protein and mRNA expression levels of adhesion molecules including intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) induced by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in HUVECs. ABO also attenuated TNF-α-induced cell adhesion of monocytic U937 cells to HUVECs in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, ABO significantly inhibited TNF-α-induced translocation of Nuclear Factor-κB (NF-κB) p65 from cytoplasm to nuclei in HUVECs. Taken together, the present data suggest that ABO suppresses the vascular inflammatory process through the inhibition of NF-κB activation.