Effects of Chlorogenic Acid on Reactive Oxygen Species and Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Formation

Innate immune cells such as neutrophils respond to signals at sites of infection or tissue damage by moving to the affected area and eliminating microbes by producing reactive oxygen species (ROS), very reactive molecules that damage and kill microbes, and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), expelled DNA chromatin and histones that form net‐like structures with sticky surfaces that can trap and kill microbes. Although ROS and NET formation are needed to prevent life‐threatening infections, excessive inflammation can lead to host tissue damage and dysfunction, and, indeed, does so in many types of diseases. Chlorogenic acid (CGA), a dietary polyphenol found in coffee, has antioxidant and potentially anti‐inflammatory effects. The possible anti‐inflammatory impacts of CGA have important medical implications due to the widespread, global availability of coffee, even in areas with reduced access to affordable and accessible pharmaceuticals. We tested the impacts of CGA on PMA‐induced ROS and NET formation in neutrophil‐like HL‐60 cells. We found that CGA functions as an antioxidant that significantly decreases PMA‐induced ROS production cells in these cells without affecting the production of superoxide or the formation of NETs. This suggests that CGA may function as an antioxidant in vivo and thereby reduce inflammation by decreasing the tissue‐damaging functions of ROS in inflamed tissues. We are currently investigating this idea further by elucidating the impact of chlorogenic acid on Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced ROS production by human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) to determine whether CGA maintains similar effects in a more physiological system. Support or Funding Information DePauw University and the Science Research Fellows program This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .