Cigarette smoke (CS) is the major cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). CS heightens inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis. Ergosterol is the main bioactive ingredient in Cordyceps sinensis (C. sinensis), a traditional medicinal herb for various diseases. The objective of this work was to investigate the effects of ergosterol on anti-inflammatory and antioxidative stress as well as anti-apoptosis in a cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-induced COPD model both in vitro and in vivo. Our results demonstrate that CSE induced inflammatory and oxidative stress and apoptosis with the involvement of the Bcl-2 family proteins via the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB)/p65 pathway in both 16HBE cells and Balb/c mice. CSE induced epithelial cell death and increased the expression of nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), malondialdehyde (MAD) and the apoptosis-related proteins cleaved caspase 3/7/9 and cleaved-poly-(ADP)-ribose polymerase (PARP) both in vitro and in vivo, whereas decreased the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). Treatment of 16HBE cells and Balb/c mice with ergosterol inhibited CSE-induced inflammatory and oxidative stress and apoptosis by inhibiting the activation of NF-κB/p65. Ergosterol suppressed apoptosis by inhibiting the expression of the apoptosis-related proteins both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, the usage of QNZ (an inhibitor of NF-κB) also partly demonstrated that NF-κB/p65 pathway was involved in the ergosterol protective progress. These results show that ergosterol suppressed COPD inflammatory and oxidative stress and apoptosis through the NF-κB/p65 pathway, suggesting that ergosterol may be partially responsible for the therapeutic effects of cultured C. sinensis on COPD patients.

Diallyl disulfide (DADS) is the main organosulfur ingredient in garlic, with known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of DADS on reducing the inflammation and redox imbalance in a rat emphysema model that was induced by intraperitoneal injection of cigarette smoke extract (CSE). Briefly, DADS exerted an anti-inflammation effect on emphysema rats through decreasing cell influx in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and suppressing pro-inflammation cytokine production including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6) via inhibiting the NF-κB pathway. In addition, levels of oxidative stress markers including malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were reduced, while the activities of glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) were markedly enhanced by DADS. Moreover, MMP-9 and TIMP-1 expression were down-regulated by DADS. Furthermore, the regulation effects of DADS on CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were observed. In conclusion, these encouraging findings suggest that DADS could be considered as a promising anti-inflammation and antioxidative agent for the treatment of emphysema.

BackgroundOphiocordyceps sinensis (C. sinensis) extracts have been found to have a therapeutic effect on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) plays an important role in the regulation of inflammatory mediators and correlates with lung function and COPD exacerbations. The objective of this work was to explore the anti-inflammatory effect and preliminary pathways of nucleosides from cultured C. sinensis on RAW264.7 macrophages and COPD mice.Materials and methodsThe nucleosides were extracted from cultured C. sinensis powder and further purified by macroporous resin D101 and glucan G10 columns. Inflammation and oxidative stress models in RAW264.7 macrophages and in mice were established by injection of cigarette smoke extract (CSE). We then examined how the isolated nucleosides regulated the production of the associated inflammatory mediators in vitro and in vivo by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot.ResultsThe nucleosides inhibited inflammatory mediator expression of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, interleukin-1β, and nitric oxide in both the CSE-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and mice. Moreover, the nucleosides elevated SIRT1 activation and suppressed nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)/p65 activation in vitro and in vivo. Nucleoside treatment significantly decreased the levels of the inflammatory mediators in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum of the CSE-induced mice. The nucleosides also altered the recruitment of inflammatory cells in BALF and improved characteristic features of the lungs in the CSE-induced mice.ConclusionThese results show that the nucleosides suppressed COPD inflammation through the SIRT1–NF-κB/p65 pathway, suggesting that the nucleosides may be partly responsible for the therapeutic effects of cultured C. sinensis on COPD patients.

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