1. Melatonin protects against lipopolysaccharide-induced epididymitis in sheep epididymal epithelial cells in vitro.
- Author
-
Ge, Wen-bo, Xiao, Long-fei, Duan, Hong-wei, Li, Zong-shuai, Jiang, Yu-ting, Yang, Shan-shan, Hu, Jun-jie, Zhang, Yong, and Zhao, Xing-xu
- Subjects
- *
EPITHELIAL cells , *EPIDIDYMITIS , *TUMOR necrosis factors , *MELATONIN , *SHEEP - Abstract
• LPS induced an inflammatory response in sheep epididymal epithelial cells. • Melatonin reversed the LPS-induced increases in pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. • Melatonin acts through receptors MT1 and MT2 to suppress TLR4/NF-κB signaling. • Melatonin can potentially be used as a treatment for epididymitis in sheep. Melatonin has protective effects against inflammation but its role in epididymitis is unknown. We addressed this in the present study using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated sheep epididymal epithelial cells as an in vitro inflammation model. We found that interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor α, and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 mRNA levels; COX-2 and Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 protein levels; and nuclear factor (NF)-κB p65 phosphorylation were increased by LPS treatment. These effects were reversed in a dose-dependent manner by melatonin (10−11–10−7 M). Quantitative reverse transcription PCR and immunofluorescence analyses showed that the melatonin receptors MT1 and MT2 were expressed in sheep epididymal epithelial cells. The inhibitory effect of melatonin on inflammation was abrogated by the MT1 and MT2 receptor antagonist luzindole and the MT2 ligand 4-phenyl-2-propanamide tetraldehyde. Thus, melatonin exerted anti-inflammatory effect in epididymal epithelial cells by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signaling, suggesting its potential as an effective drug for the treatment of epididymitis in sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
- View/download PDF