Expression of TNF-alpha and IL-6 in HMC-1 cells treated with bisphenol A is attenuated by plant-originating glycoprotein (75 kDa) by blocking p38 MAPK.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is known as an estrogen-mimic environmental hormone which has the ability to indirectly stimulate the production of allergic inflammation-related cytokines. Cudrania tricuspidata Bureau (CTB) has been used in Korean folk medicine for a long time. In order to determine the inhibitory effect of a glycoprotein (CTB glycoprotein, 75 kDa) isolated from CTB fruits on the activities of allergic inflammation-related cytokines (TNF-alpha and IL-6) caused by BPA, we evaluated the activities of protein kinase C (PKC), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK), nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB, and inflammation-related cytokine (TNF-alpha and IL-6) in the BPA-induced HMC-1 cells using immunoblot analysis and RT-PCR. The results obtained from this study revealed that CTB glycoprotein (100 microg/ml) inhibits the translocation of PKC from cytosol to the membrane, the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, the activation of NF-kappaB, and the expression levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6. Taken together, the results in this study suggest that CTB glycoprotein inhibits the expression of allergic inflammation-related cytokines (TNF-alpha and IL-6) by blocking NF-kappaB and p38 kinase in BPA-induced HMC-1 cells.