IKKβ-targeted anti-inflammatory activities of a butanol fraction of artificially cultivated cordyceps pruinosa fruit bodies

The inhibitory activities of the Cordyceps pruinosa butanol fraction (Cp-BF) were investigated by determining inflammatory responses of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW264.7 macrophage cells and by evaluating HCl/ethanol (EtOH)-triggered gastric ulcers in mice.Themolecularmechanisms of the inhibitory effects of Cp-BF were investigated by identifying target enzymes using biochemical and molecular biological approaches. Cp-BF strongly inhibited the production of NO and TNF-α, release of reactive oxygen species (ROS), phagocytic uptake of FITC-dextran, andmRNAexpression levels of interleukin (IL)-6, inducibleNO synthase (iNOS), and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF)-α in activated RAW264.7 cells. Cp-BF also strongly downregulated the NF-κB pathway by suppressing IKKβ according to luciferase reporter assays andimmunoblot analysis. Furthermore,Cp-BF blocked both increased levels of NF-κB-mediated luciferase activities and phosphorylation of p65/p50 observed by IKKβ overexpression. Finally, orally administered Cp-BF was found to attenuate gastric ulcer and block the phosphorylation of IκBβ induced by HCl/EtOH. Therefore, these results suggest that the anti-inflammatory activity of Cp-BF may be mediated by suppression of IKKα and its downstream NF-κB activation. Since our group has established the mass cultivation conditions by developing culture conditions for Cordyceps pruinosa, the information presented in this study may be useful for developing new anti-inflammatory agents.