Imperatorin efficiently blocks TNF-α-mediated activation of ROS/PI3K/Akt/NF-κB pathway

Inflammation contributes to development and progression in a variety of cancers, including cervical cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide. In this study, we examined the anti-inflammatory effects of imperatorin, a psoralen-type furanocoumarin from the fruits of Angelica dahurica, in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-stimulated HeLa cells by investigating its impact on the production and expression of cytokines and the major signal-transduction pathways. We found this compound significantly inhibited the TNF-α-induced expression of NF-κB target genes, such as COX-2, cyclin  D1, MMP-9, VEGF, IL-6 and Bcl-xL in a concentration-dependent manner. Further analysis revealed that imperatorin was a potent inhibitor of NF-κB activation by the suppression of TNF-α-induced IKKα/β phosphorylation, IκB phosphorylation and degradation, and NF-κB p65 nuclear translocation. We also demonstrated that imperatorin downregulated TNF-α-induced activation of PI3K/Akt. Furthermore, our findings show that imperatorin inhibits TNF-α-induced ROS generation. Taken together, imperatorin can blunt inflammation by inhibiting the ROS-mediated activation of the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB pathway.