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Mechanisms of Artemisia scoparia ’s Anti‐Inflammatory Activity in Cultured Adipocytes, Macrophages, and Pancreatic β‐Cells
Author(s) -
Boudreau Anik,
Burke Susan J.,
Collier J. Jason,
Richard Allison J.,
Ribnicky David M.,
Stephens Jacqueline M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1002/oby.22912
Subject(s) - adipocyte , adipose tissue , inflammation , tumor necrosis factor alpha , mapk/erk pathway , endocrinology , medicine , biology , cancer research , signal transduction , microbiology and biotechnology
Objective An ethanolic extract of Artemisia scoparia (SCO) improves adipose tissue function and reduces negative metabolic consequences of high‐fat feeding. A. scoparia has a long history of medicinal use across Asia and has anti‐inflammatory effects in various cell types and disease models. The objective of the current study was to investigate SCO’s effects on inflammation in cells relevant to metabolic health. Methods Inflammatory responses were assayed in cultured adipocytes, macrophages, and insulinoma cells by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunoblotting, and NF‐κB reporter assays. Results In tumor necrosis factor α–treated adipocytes, SCO mitigated ERK and NF‐κB signaling as well as transcriptional responses but had no effect on fatty acid–binding protein 4 secretion. SCO also reduced levels of deleted in breast cancer 1 protein in adipocytes and inhibited inflammatory gene expression in stimulated macrophages. Finally, in pancreatic β‐cells, SCO decreased NF‐κB–responsive promoter activity induced by IL‐1β treatment. Conclusions SCO’s ability to promote adipocyte development and function is thought to mediate its insulin‐sensitizing actions in vivo . Our findings that SCO inhibits inflammatory responses through at least two distinct signaling pathways (ERK and NF‐κB) in three cell types known to contribute to metabolic disease reveal that SCO may act more broadly than previously thought to improve metabolic health.