Abstract
Since reactive oxygen intermediates are involved in the producing pathway of cytokines, NAC and glutathione (GSH), anti-oxidants, may inhibit the production of cytokines. We examined the TNFα production from rat alveolar macrophages stimulated by LPS and the effect of NAC and GSH on TNFα production. Alveolar macrophages in BAL fluid were separated from male SD rats and were stimulated with LPS at the concentration of 0.1 to 10μg/ml for 6 to 48 hours under the condition of 5% CO2 at 37°C. TNFα concentration in the culture medium was measured using a mouse TNFα ELISA kit, which crossreacts with rat TNFα. LPS increased TNFα production from alveolar macrophages in dose-and time-dependent manners. NAC (5 mM to 30 mM) and GSH (10 mM to 30 mM) significantly inhibited the TNFα production induced by LPS. These findings suggest that reactive oxygen intermediates play an important role in the LPS-induced signal transduction pathway of cytokine production. NAC is considered to be useful as an anti-inflammatory drug.
