Open Access

Toxic proteins from Croton tiglium L. exert a proinflammatory effect by inducing release of proinflammatory cytokines and activating the p38-MAPK signaling pathway

  • Authors:
    • Liping Liu
    • Hongli Yu
    • Hao Wu
    • Xiaolin Yang
    • Yaozong Pan
    • Yeqing Chen
    • Kuilong Wang
    • Wei Wang
    • Wenying Zhang
    • Yangping Jin
    • Chengchao Zhang
    • Ai Jiang
    • Chunyan Xia
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: May 24, 2017     https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2017.6617
  • Pages: 631-638
  • Copyright: © Liu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to determine the toxic targets of proteins from Croton tiglium L. and to investigate the potential mechanism of their toxicity. The toxic targets were determined by oral medication and intraperitoneal injection. The median lethal dose of oral medication in mice was calculated using Bliss software (2,752.8-3,407.5 mg/kg), and that of intraperitoneal injection was 195.8‑272.69 mg/kg. The results of histopathological examination demonstrated that the kidney was primarily impaired by intraperitoneal injection, with slight degeneration of renal tubular epithelial cells. As to oral medication, the digestive tract was primarily injured, which manifested as congestion, bleeding, serious edema and other symptoms. Oral administration of the proteins caused gastrointestinal edema by increasing the intestinal permeability. Severe edema was associated with the inflammatory response, therefore the association between the toxicity of the proteins and inflammation was investigated. The proinflammatory effects of the crude proteins on the release of inflammatory mediator prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were evaluated through intraperitoneal injection and the production of proinflammatory cytokines in RAW264.7 macrophages. Maximum PGE2 was released in the mice in vivo following intraperitoneal injection with 400 mg crude protein/kg body weight. Proinflammatory cytokines in macrophages, including tumor necrosis factor‑α and interleukin‑1β, were produced in dose‑ and time‑dependent manners in vitro. furthermore, the expressions of cell signaling molecules were detected by western blotting. The inflammatory response induced by crude protein in macrophages was associated with the mitogen‑activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway mainly including p38‑MAPK, extracellular signal‑regulated kinase 1/2 and c‑Jun N‑terminal kinase 1/2/3 and the activated p38‑MAPK signaling pathway. However, extracellular signal‑regulated kinase 1/2 and c‑Jun N‑terminal kinases 1‑3 exhibited no significant response.
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July-2017
Volume 16 Issue 1

Print ISSN: 1791-2997
Online ISSN:1791-3004

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Spandidos Publications style
Liu L, Yu H, Wu H, Yang X, Pan Y, Chen Y, Wang K, Wang W, Zhang W, Jin Y, Jin Y, et al: Toxic proteins from Croton tiglium L. exert a proinflammatory effect by inducing release of proinflammatory cytokines and activating the p38-MAPK signaling pathway. Mol Med Rep 16: 631-638, 2017
APA
Liu, L., Yu, H., Wu, H., Yang, X., Pan, Y., Chen, Y. ... Xia, C. (2017). Toxic proteins from Croton tiglium L. exert a proinflammatory effect by inducing release of proinflammatory cytokines and activating the p38-MAPK signaling pathway. Molecular Medicine Reports, 16, 631-638. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2017.6617
MLA
Liu, L., Yu, H., Wu, H., Yang, X., Pan, Y., Chen, Y., Wang, K., Wang, W., Zhang, W., Jin, Y., Zhang, C., Jiang, A., Xia, C."Toxic proteins from Croton tiglium L. exert a proinflammatory effect by inducing release of proinflammatory cytokines and activating the p38-MAPK signaling pathway". Molecular Medicine Reports 16.1 (2017): 631-638.
Chicago
Liu, L., Yu, H., Wu, H., Yang, X., Pan, Y., Chen, Y., Wang, K., Wang, W., Zhang, W., Jin, Y., Zhang, C., Jiang, A., Xia, C."Toxic proteins from Croton tiglium L. exert a proinflammatory effect by inducing release of proinflammatory cytokines and activating the p38-MAPK signaling pathway". Molecular Medicine Reports 16, no. 1 (2017): 631-638. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2017.6617