Background: Linagliptin, the only bile-excreted dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, is a therapeutic drug for patients with diabetes receiving hemodialysis, for whom inflammation is a prognosis-related factor, because of its potential anti-inflammatory effects. Although the anti-inflammatory effects of linagliptin in vivo are reported, no study has described these effects in vitro. DPP-4 degrades glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which is known to have anti-inflammatory properties. Since GLP-1 is a gut hormone secreted by intestinal L cells, in vivo examination of the GLP-1-independent anti-inflammatory effects of DPP-4 inhibitors is difficult. We evaluated the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent, GLP-1-independent, anti-inflammatory effects of linagliptin in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) which do not secrete GLP-1. Furthermore, to determine whether linagliptin has unique pharmacological actions compared with other DPP-4 inhibitors, we assessed the anti-inflammatory effects of sitagliptin (a DPP-4 inhibitor without xanthine-related skeletal system activity), caffeine (a phosphodiesterase inhibitor), loxoprofen, and diclofenac sodium. Methods: HUVECs were cultured for 24 h at densities of 1-2 × 10 5 cells/mL. We pretreated HUVECs with or without linagliptin (1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 nM), 150 nM sitagliptin, 50 nM caffeine, 17 μM loxoprofen, or 1.3 μM diclofenac sodium for 1 h prior to incubation with LPS. The concentration of LPS used (1 μg/mL) was sufficient to induce an inflammatory response in HUVECs. Five hours after incubation with LPS, culture media was evaluated for interleukin (IL)-6 expression. Intranuclear p65 (a subunit of nuclear factor kappa-B (NFκB)) levels were measured 5 h after treatment with LPS and 50 nM linagliptin, while phosphorylated p38 MAPK levels were measured in the cytosolic fractions obtained 30 min after treatment with LPS and 50 nM linagliptin.