Shikonin, an analog of naphthoquinone pigments isolated from the root of Lithospermum erythrorhyzon, was recently reported to exert beneficial anti-inflammatory effects both in vivo and in vitro. The present study aimed to investigate the potential therapeutic effect of shikonin in a murine model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI). Dexamethasone was used as a positive control to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of shikonin in the study. Pretreatment with shikonin (intraperitoneal injection) significantly inhibited LPS-induced increases in the macrophage and neutrophil infiltration of lung tissues and markedly attenuated myeloperoxidase activity. Furthermore, shikonin significantly reduced the concentrations of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid induced by LPS. Compared with the LPS group, lung histopathologic changes were less pronounced in the shikonin-pretreated mice. Additionally, Western blotting results showed that shikonin efficiently decreased nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) activation by inhibiting the degradation and phosphorylation of IκBα. These results suggest that shikonin exerts anti-inflammatory properties in LPS-mediated ALI, possibly through inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway, which mediates the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Shikonin may be a potential agent for the prophylaxis of ALI.
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