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Targeting NF-κB Signaling: Selected Small Molecules Downregulate Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in Both Food Allergen and LPS-Induced Inflammation
Summary
This study found that two natural food compounds, vanillyl alcohol and lauric acid, can reduce inflammation by blocking the NF-kB pathway, a key driver of chronic inflammatory diseases. While not directly about microplastics, the NF-kB pathway is one of the main ways that microplastic exposure triggers inflammation in the body. These findings suggest that certain dietary compounds could help mitigate the inflammatory effects of environmental pollutants like microplastics.
Although inflammation is primarily a protective response guarding the human body, it can result in a variety of chronic diseases such as allergies, auto-immune, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. In NF-κB-mediated inflammation, many small molecules and food compounds characterized as nutraceuticals have shown positive effects associated with immunomodulatory properties. We investigated the effects of selected bioactive small molecules, commonly found in food components, vanillyl alcohol (VA) and lauric acid (LA), on different cell lines exposed to pro-inflammatory stimuli, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and the food allergen actinidin (Act d 1). Pro-inflammatory cytokines were downregulated in response to both VA and LA, and this downregulation was caused by a decrease in the activation of the NF-κB pathway and the translocation of p65, the pathway's major component. Small nutraceutical molecules, VA and LA, showed not only inhibition of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, but also inhibition of the NF-κB activation, and reduced translocation of the p65 component. The present study may contribute to the therapeutic use of these molecules for various inflammatory diseases, which have in common an increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and NF-κB-mediated inflammation.
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