| 저자(한글) |
Lee, Kyung Jin,Kim, Yun Kyu,Krupa, Martin,Nguyen, Anh Ngoc,Do, Bich Hang,Chung, Boram,Vu, Thi Thu Trang,Kim, Song Cheol,Choe, Han |
| 초록 |
Crotamine is a peptide toxin found in the venom of the rattlesnake Crotalus durissus terrificus and has antiproliferative, antimicrobial, and antifungal activities. Herein, we show that crotamine dose-dependently induced macrophage phagocytic and cytostatic activity by the induction of nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF- alpha;). Moreover, the crotamineinduced expression of iNOS and TNF- alpha; is mediated through the phosphorylation of p38 and the NF- kappa;B signaling cascade in macrophages. Notably, pretreatment with SB203580 (a p38-specific inhibitor) or BAY 11-7082 (an NF- kappa;B inhibitor) inhibited crotamine-induced NO production and macrophage phagocytic and cytotoxic activity. Our results show for the first time that crotamine stimulates macrophage phagocytic and cytostatic activity by induction of NO and TNF- alpha; via the p38 and NF- kappa;B signaling pathways and suggest that crotamine may be a useful therapeutic agent for the treatment of inflammatory disease. |
