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EFFECT OF CHALCONE ON INFLAMMATORY FACTORS AND THE EXPRESSION OF P38 MAPK PROTEIN IN STREPTOCOCCUS PNEUMONIAE MICE

JUN LUO 1#, LI LI 2#*, XIAN ZHANG 1, LEPENG WANG 2

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The effects of chalcone on inflammatory response and expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 (p38 MAPK) in lung tissue of mice with pneumonia due to Streptococcus pneumoniae were investigated. Sixty male Kunming mice were divided into three groups (20 mice in each group), a control group, a pneumonia model group and a chalcone group. For the mice in model group and chalcone group, Streptococcus pneumoniae standard strain solution was used for modelling, while the control group was slowly dripped with 50 μL normal saline solution. After successful modelling, mice in the chalcone group were subcutaneously injected with 100 mg/kg chalcone, and mice in the model group and control group were subcutaneously injected with an equal volume of normal saline solution, once every 8h, for 3 days. Venous blood was collected to determine C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) levels. Inflammatory markers were also detected in lung tissue. The results showed that in the pneumonia group there is a significant increase in CRP, PCT, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 levels, along with increased expression of the p38 MAPK gene and protein compared to the control group. Chalcone treatment can significantly reduce the level of inflammatory factors in the lung tissue of mice with pneumonia and down-regulate the expression of p38 MAPK gene and protein. Therefore, this may be one of the mechanisms by which chalcone inhibits the inflammatory response of lung tissue in mice with Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia.