• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.303-314
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• 2001

Background : Matrix metalioproteinase(MMP)-2 and MMP-9 have been known to play an important role in cell migration and the tissue remodeling process by type IV collagen lysis, a major component of the basement membrane. Intra-alveolar fibrosis, secondary to an injury to the basement membrane of the alveolar epithelial lining, is a major process in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF). Therefore, MMP-2 and MMP-9 was hypothesized to play an important role in IPF pathogenesis. As a result, their level may reflect the activity or prognosis. Method : Forty one progressive IPF patients(age $59.82{\pm}1.73$ years, M:F=23:18), 16 patients with stable IPF for more than one year without therapy(age : $63.6{\pm}2.8$ years, M:F=13:3), and 7 normal controls were enrolled in this study. The MMP-2 and MMP-9 levels in the BAL fluid and alveolar macrophage conditioned media(AM-CM) were measured by zymography and the TIMP-1 level was measured by ELISA. Results : 1) The MMP-2 level in BALF was highest in the progressive IPF group ($1.36{\pm}0.28$) followed by the stable group ($0.46{\pm}0.13$) and the controls ($0.08{\pm}0.09$), which was statistically significant. The MMP-9 level of the IPF ($0.31{\pm}0.058$) and the stable group ($0.22{\pm}0.078$) were higher than that of the control group ($0.002{\pm}0.004$). In the AM-CM, only MMP-9 was detected, which was significantly higher in IPF group ($0.80{\pm}0.1O$) than in the control group($0.23{\pm}0.081$). The TIMP-1 level was also higher in both the IPF ($36.34{\pm}8.62\;{\mu}g/ml$) and stable group ($20.83{\pm}8.53\;{\mu}g/ml$) compared to the control group ($2.80{\pm}1.05\;{\mu}g/ml$) (p<0.05). 3) There was a correlation between the MMP-2 level in the BALF with the total cell number(r=0.298) and neutrophils(r=0.357) (p<0.05), and the MMP-9 level with the number of neutrophils (r=0.407) and lymphocytes (r=0.574)(p<0.05). The TIMP-1 level correlated with the total number of cell (r=0.338, p<0.05) and neutrophils(r=0.449, p=0.059). Conclusion : Both MMP and TIMP appear to play an important role in IPF pathogenesis, and their level may reflect the disease activity.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.215-228
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• 1999

Background: Sarcoidosis is a chronic granulomatous inflammatory disease of unknown etiology often involving the lungs and intrathoracic lymph nodes. The natural course of sarcoidosis is variable from spontaneous remission to significant morbidity or death. But, the mechanisms causing the variable clinical outcomes or any single parameter to predict the prognosis was not known. In sarcoidosis, the number and the activity of CD4 + lymphocytes are significantly increased at the loci of disease and their oligoclonality suggests that the CD4 + lymphocytes hyperreactivity may be caused by persistent antigenic stimulus. Recently, it has been known that CD4+ lymphocytes can be subdivided into 2 distinct population(Th1 and Th2) defined by the spectrum of cytokines produced by these cells. Th1 cells promote cellular immunity associated with delayed type hypersensitivity reactions by generating IL-2 and IFN-$\gamma$. Th2 cells playa role in allergic responses and immediate hypersensitivity reactions by secreting IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10. CD4+ lymphocytes in pulmonary sarcoidosis were reported to be mainly Th1 cells. IL-12 has been known to play an important role in differentiation of undifferentiated naive T cells to Th1 cells. And, Moller et al. observed increased IL-12 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) in patients with sarcoidosis. So it is possible that the elevated level of IL-12 is necessary for the continuous progression of the disease in active sarcoidosis. This study was performed to test the assumption that IL-12 can be a marker of active pulmonary sarcoidosis. Methods: We measured the concentration of IL-12 in BALF and in conditioned medium of alveolar macrophage(AM) using ELISA(enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) method in 26 patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis(10 males, 16 females, mean age: $39.8{\pm}2.1$ years) and 11 normal control. Clinically, 14 patients had active sarcoidosis and 12 patients had inactive. Results: Total cells counts, percentage and number of lymhocytes, number of AM and CD4/CD8 lymphocyte ratio in BALF were significantly higher in patients with sarcoidosis than in control group. But none of these parameters could differentiate active sarcoidosis from inactive disease. The concentration of IL-12 in BALF was significantly increased in sarcoidosis patients ($49.3{\pm}9.2$ pg/ml) than in normal control ($2.5{\pm}0.4$ pg/ml) (p<0.001). Moreover it was significantly higher in patients with active sarcoidosis ($70.3{\pm}14.8$ pg/ml) than in inactive disease ($24.8{\pm}3.l$ pg/ml) (p=0.001). Also, the concentration of IL-12 in BALF showed significant correlation with the percentage of AM(p<0.001), percentage(p<0.001) and number of lymphocyte(p<0.001) in BALF, suggesting the close relationship between the level of IL-12 in BALF and the inflammatory cell infiltration in the lungs. Furthermore, we found a significant correlation between the level of IL-12 and the concentration of soluble ICAM-1 : in serum(p<0.001) and BALF (p=0.001), and also between IL-12 level and ICAM-1 expression of AM(p<0.001). The AM from patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis secreted significantly larger amount of IL-12 ($206.2{\pm}61.9$ pg/ml) than those of control ($68.3{\pm}43.7$ pg/ml) (p<0.008), but, there was no difference between inactive and active disease group. Conclusion : Our data suggest that the BALF IL-12 level can be used as a marker of the activity of pulmonary sarcoidosis.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.516-524
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• 1997

Background : Cancer invasion and metastasis require the dissolution of the extracellular matrix in which several proteolytic enzymes are involved. One of these enzymes is the urokinase-type plasminogen activator(u-PA), and plasminogen activator inhibitors(PAI-1, PAI-2) also have a possible role in cancer invasion and metastasis by protection of cancer itself from proteolysis by u-PA. It has been reported that the levels of u-PA and plasminogen activator inhibitors in various cancer tissues are significantly higher than those in normal tissues and have significant correlations with tumor size and lymph node involvement. Here, we measured the concentration of plasma u-PA and PAI-1 antigens in the patients with lung cancer and compared the concentration of them with histologic types and staging parameters. Methods : We measured the concentration of plasma u-PA and PAI-1 antigens using commercial ELISA kit in 37 lung cancer patients, 21 benign lung disease patients and 24 age-matched healthy controls, and we compared the concentration of them with histologic types and staging parameters in lung cancer patients. Results : The concentration of u-PA was $1.0{\pm}0.3ng/mL$ in controls, $1.0{\pm}0.3ng/mL$ in benign lung disease patients and $0.9{\pm}0.3ng/mL$ in lung cancer patients. The concentration of PAI-1 was $14.2{\pm}6.7ng/mL$ in controls, $14.9{\pm}6.3ng/mL$ in benign lung disease patients, and $22.1{\pm}9.8ng/mL$ in lung cancer patients. The concentration of PAI-1 in lung cancer patients was higher than those of benign lung disease patients and controls. The concentration of u-PA was $0.7{\pm}0.4ng/mL$ in squamous cell carcinoma, $0.8{\pm}0.3ng/mL$ in adenocarcinoma, 0.9ng/mL in large cell carcinoma, and $1.1{\pm}0.7ng/mL$ in small cell carcinoma. The concentration of PAI-1 was $22.3{\pm}7.2ng/mL$ in squamous cell carcinoma, $22.6{\pm}9.9ng/mL$ in adenocarcinoma, 42 ng/mL in large cell carcinoma, and $16.0{\pm}14.2ng/mL$ in small cell carcinoma. The concentration of u-PA was 0.74ng/mL in stage I, $1.2{\pm}0.6ng/mL$ in stage II, $0.7{\pm}0.4ng/mL$ in stage IIIA, $0.7{\pm}0.4ng/mL$ in stage IIIB, and $0.7{\pm}0.3ng/mL$ in stage IV. The concentration of PAI-1 was 21.8ng/mL in stage I, $22.7{\pm}8.7ng/mL$ in stage II, $18.4{\pm}4.9ng/mL$ in stage IIIA, $25.3{\pm}9.0ng/mL$ in stage IIIB, and $21.5{\pm}10.8ng/mL$ in stage IV. When we divided T stage into T1-3 and T4, the concentration of u-PA was $0.8{\pm}0.4ng/mL$ in T1-3 and $0.7{\pm}0.4ng/mL$ in T4, and the concentration of PAI-1 was $17.9{\pm}5.6ng/mL$ in T1-3 and $26.1{\pm}9.1ng/mL$ in T4. The concentration of PAI-1 in T4 was significantly higher than that in T1-3. The concentration of u-PA was $0.8{\pm}0.4ng/mL$ in M0 and $0.7{\pm}0.3ng/mL$ in M1, and the concentration of PAI-1 was $23.6{\pm}8.3ng/mL$ in M0 and $21.5{\pm}10.8ng/mL$ in M1. Conclusions : The plasma levels of PAI-1 in lung cancer were higher than benign lung disease and controls, and the plasma levels of PAI-1 in T4 were significantly higher than T1-3. These findings suggest involvement of PAI-1 with local invasion of lung cancer, but it should be confirmed by the data on comparison with pathological staging and tissue level in lung cancer.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.51-66
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• 2004

Objectives : The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that participate in the extracellular matrix metabolism play a important role in the progression of pulmonary fibrosis. The effects of the MMPs are regulated by several factors including Th-1 cytokines, $interferon-{\gamma}$ ($IFN-{\gamma}$). Up to now, $IFN-{\gamma}$ is known to inhibit pulmonary fibrosis, but little is known regarding the exact effect of $IFN-{\gamma}$ on the regulation of the MMPs. This study investigated the effects of $interferon-{\gamma}$ on the pulmonary fibrosis and the expression of the lung MMP-2,-9, TIMP-1,-2, and Th-2 cytokines in aa rat model of bleomycin induced pulmonary fibrosis. Materials and methods : Male, specific pathogen-free Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to an intratracheal bleomycin instillation. The rats were randomized to a saline control, a bleomycin treated, and a bleomycin+$IFN-{\gamma}$ treated group. The bleomycin+$IFN-{\gamma}$ treated group was subjected to an intramuscular injection of $IFN-{\gamma}$ for 14 days. At 3, 7, 14, and 28 days after the bleomycin instillation, the rats were sacrificed and the lungs were harvested. In order to evaluate the effects of the $IFN-{\gamma}$ on lung fibrosis and inflammation, the lung hydroxyproline content, inflammation and fibrosis score were measured. Western blotting, zymography and reverse zymography were performed at 3, 7, 14, 28 days after bleomycin instillation in order to evaluate the MMP-2,-9, and TIMP-1,-2 expression level. ELISA was performed to determine the IL-4 and IL-13 level in a lung homogenate. Results : 1. 7 days after bleomycin instillation, inflammatory changes were more severe in the bleomycin+$IFN-{\gamma}$ group than the bleomycin group (bleomycin group : bleomycin+$IFN-{\gamma}$ group=$2.08{\pm}0.15:2.74{\pm}0.29$, P<0.05), but 28 days after bleomycin instillation, lung fibrosis was significantly reduced as a result of the $IFN-{\gamma}$ treatment (bleomycin group : bleomycin+$IFN-{\gamma}$ group=$3.94{\pm}0.43:2.64{\pm}0.13$, P<0.05). 2. 28 days after bleomycin instillation, the lung hydroxyproline content was significantly reduced as a result of $IFN-{\gamma}$ treatment (bleomycin group : bleomycin+$IFN-{\gamma}$ group=$294.04{\pm}31.73{\mu}g/g:194.92{\pm}15.51{\mu}g/g$, P<0.05). 3. Western blotting showed that the MMP-2 level was increased as a result of the bleomycin instillation and highest in the 14 days after bleomycin instillation. 4. In zymography, the active forms of MMP-2 were significantly increased as a result of the $IFN-{\gamma}$ treatment 3 days after the bleomycin instillation, bleomycin+$IFN-{\gamma}$ group (bleomycin group : bleomycin+$IFN-{\gamma}$ group=$209.63{\pm}7.60%:407.66{\pm}85.34%$, P<0.05), but 14 days after the bleomycin instillation, the active forms of MMP-2 were significantly reduced as a result of the $IFN-{\gamma}$ treatment (bleomycin group : bleomycin+$IFN-{\gamma}$ group=$159.36{\pm}20.93%:97.23{\pm}12.50%$, P<0.05). 5. The IL-4 levels were lower in the bleomycin and bleomycin+$IFN-{\gamma}$ groups but this was not significant, and the IL-13 levels showed no difference between the experiment groups. Conclusion : The author found that lung inflammation was increased in the early period but the pulmonary fibrosis was inhibited in the late stage as a result of $IFN-{\gamma}$. The inhibition of pulmonary fibrosis by $IFN-{\gamma}$ appeared to be associated with the inhibition of MMP-2 activation by $IFN-{\gamma}$. Further studies on the mechanism of the regulation of MMP-2 activation and the effects of MMP-2 activation on pulmonary fibrosis is warranted in the future.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.9
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• pp.977-982
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• 2006

Purpose : There has been an increasing amount of literature concerning the association between Mycoplasma pneumoniae and asthma pathogenesis. Interleukin(IL)-6 stimulates the differentiation of monocytes, and can promote Th2 differentiation and simultaneously inhibit Th1 polarization. IL-8 is a potent chemoattractant and, it has been suggested, has a role in asthma pathogenesis. Nitric oxide (NO) synthesized by airway epithelium may be important in the regulation of airway inflammation and reactivity. Vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) has been reported to be a mediator of airway remodeling in asthma. We investigated the effects of M. pneumoniae on IL-6, IL-8, NO and VEGF production in human respiratory epithelial cells. Methods : A549 cells were cultured and inoculated with M. pneumoniae at a dose of 20 cfu/cell. After infection, the presence of M. pneumoniae in epithelial cell cultures was monitored by immunofluorescence and confirmed by polymerase chain reaction(PCR) detection. IL-6, IL-8 and VEGF were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. NO was measured using the standard Griess reaction. Results : In A549 cells, M. pneumoniaeinduced IL-6, IL-8, NO and VEGF release in time-dependent manners. It also induced mRNA expression of IL-6, IL-8 and VEGF in similar manners. Conclusion : These observations suggest that M. pneumoniae might have a role in the pathogenesis of the allergic inflammation of bronchial asthma.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.79-89
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• 1985

It is important to discriminate between tuberculosis and tuberculosis-like disease by Mycobacteria other than tuberculosis in the serodiagnosis of tuberculosis. But because common antigens share among Mycobacteria, their antigenicities to human are similar. Therefore degree of cross-reactivity of antibody in the sera of patients with tuberculosis between M. tuberculosis and Mycobacteria other than tuberculosis should be checked to increase the specificity in the serodiagnosis of tuberculosis. The activity levels of IgG antibody in the sera of 106 patients confirmed as active pulmonary tuberculosis and 30 normal healthy control person to the pressate extract antigen (TE, BE, AE, and FE antigen) from M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. avium, and M. fortuitum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the crossreactivity of IgG antibody with mycobacterial species was analysed. The results were as follows; 1. The activity level(O.D. at 492nm) of IgG to TE antigen in sera of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis was $0.228{\pm}0.167$ in minimal tuberculosis; moderately advanced, $0.556{\pm}0.616$; far advanced, $1.116{\pm}0.651$ and $0.315{\pm}0.245$ in miliary tuberculosis. 2. The activity level (O.D. at 492nm) of IgG to BE antigen in sera of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis was $0.190{\pm}0.162$ in minimal tuberculosis; moderately advanced, $0.337{\pm}0.361$; far advanced, $0.713[\pm}0.460$ and $0.204{\pm}0.162$ in miliary tuberculosis. 3. The activity level (O.D. at 492nm) of IgG to AE antigen in sera of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis was $0.165{\pm}0.114$ in minimal tuberculosis; moderately advanced, $0.392{\pm}0.494$; far advenced, $0.751{\pm}0.512$ and $0.233{\pm}0.191$ in miliary tuberculosis. 4. The activity level (O.D. at 492nm) of IgG to FE antigen in sera of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis was $0.280{\pm}0.227$ in minimal tuberculosis; moderately advanced, $0.460{\pm}0.564$ ; far advanced, $0.845{\pm}0.573$ and $0.257{\pm}0.103$ in miliary tuberculosis. 5. The activity level (O.D. at 492nm) of IgG in sera of healthy control person was $0.126{\pm}0.084$ to TE antigen. $0.105{\pm}0.041$ to BE antigen, $0.103{\pm}0.052$ to AE antigen, and $0.095{\pm}0.061$ to FE antigen. 6. Degree of correlation(r) in activity level of IgG between TE antigen and BE antigen was 0.905 ; between TE antigen and AE antigen, 0.760; between TE antigen and FE antigen, 0.790, and between AE antigen and FE antigen, 0.945. 7. As O.D. above 0.200 was determined positive for the serodiagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, the sensitivity and specificity in ELISA using TE antigen were 80% and 87% respectively, whereas in the case of using BE antigen, 66% and 100%; in the case of using AE antigen, 62% and 100%, and in the case of using FE antigen, 72% and 93%, respecitively.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.479-485
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• 2009

Bulnesia sarmienti (BS), a traditional South American herbal medicine native to Gran Chaco, has been used to treat various human ailments. We investigated the cytotoxic activities and the inhibitory effects of BS bark extract(0, 50, 100 and $200\;{\mu}g/\;mL$) on the production of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$), cyclooxygenase (COX) and proinflammatory cytokines ($IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6 and $TNF-{\alpha}$) in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (100 ng/ml)-stimulated murine macrophage cell line RAW264.7. The levels of NO, COX, PGE2 production and proinflammatory cytokines ($IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6 and $TNF-{\alpha}$) were measured by ELISA kit. Cell viability, as measured by the MTT assay, showed that BS extract had no significant cytotoxicity in RAW264.7 cells. BS extract significantly inhibited the LPS-induced NO, $PGE_2$ and COX production accompanied by an attenuation of $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6 and $TNF-{\alpha}$ formation in macrophages. These results suggest that BS extract has potential as an herbal medicine for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.336-344
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• 2004

Background : Immunotherapy for cancer has not been successful because of several obstacles in tumor and its environment. Inappropriate secretions of cytokines and growth factors by tumors cause substantial changes in the immune responses against tumors, affording the tumors some degree of protection from immune attack. Uteroglobin (UG, Clara cell secretory protein) has been known to have anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and anti-cancer activities. However, in lung cancer cells, UG expression is decreased. This study investigated the role of UG in the immunomodulation of lung cancer. Methods : The UG protein was overexpressed by Adenovirus(Ad)-UG transduction in non-small cell lung cancer cell lines. The concentration of Prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) was measured by Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from whole blood were prepared with Ficoll. PBMC were cultured in RPMI 1640, supernatant of A549, or A549 with UG or NS-398. Concentration of Th 1 type and Th 2 type cytokines from PBMC were measured by ELISA. Results : UG suppressed $PGE_2$, Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) product. Both Th1 type such as Interleukin-2 (IL-2), Interferon-${\gamma}$ (IFN-${\gamma}$) and Tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) and Th2 type cytokines such as IL-10 and Tumor growth factor-${\beta}$ (TGF-${\beta}$) were increased when PBMC were cultured with supernatant of non small lung cancer cells. UG and COX-2 inhibitor, NS-398 induced normal immune response of PBMC. Although Th 1 type cytokines were increased, Th 2 type cytokines were reduced by UG. Conclusion : UG suppressed PGE2, COX-2 product. Supernatant of NSCLC induced imbalance of immune response of PBMC. However, UG reversed this imbalance. These results suggest that UG may be used in the development of immunotherapy for lung cancer.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.117-123
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• 2014

Objectives : Sinhyowoldo-san (SHWDS) is said to be a traditional medicine used for shigellosis, abdominal pain, diarrhea. But mechanism of SHWDS mediated-modulation of immune function is not sufficiently understood. To ascertain the molecular mechanisms of SHWDS 70% EtOH extract on pharmacological and biochemical actions in inflammation, we researched the effect of pro-inflammatory mediators in phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)+ A23187-activated human mast cell line (HMC-1). Methods : In the present research, cell viability was measured by MTS assay. pro-inflammatory cytokine production was measured by performing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and western blot analysis to analyze the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells ($NF-{\kappa}B$). The investigation focused on whether SHWDS inhibited the expressions of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), MAPKs and $NF-{\kappa}B$ in PMA+A23187-activated HMC-1 cells. Results : SHWDS has no cytotoxicity at measured concentration (50, 100, and $250{\mu}g/ml$). SHWDS ($250{\mu}g/ml$) inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in PMA+ A23187-activated HMC-1 cells. Moreover, SHWDS inhibited cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression. In activated HMC-1 cells, SHWDS suppressed phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK 1/2) and c-jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK 1/2). Then, SHWDS suppressed activation of nuclear factor $NF-{\kappa}B$ in nuclear, degradation of IkB ${\alpha}$ in cytoplasm. Conclusions : We propose that SHWDS has an anti-inflammatory therapeutic potential, which may result from inhibition of ERK 1/2, JNK 1/2 phosphorylation and $NF-{\kappa}B$ activation, thereby decreasing the expression of pro-inflammatory genes.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.125-132
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• 2014

Objectives : Suryeon-hwan (SRH) exhibits potent anti-inflammatory activity with an unknown mechanism. However, there has been a lack of studies regarding the effects of SRH on the inflammatory activities and effector inflammatory disease mechanism about macrophage before is not known. So, the investigation focused on whether SRH inhibited nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) productions, as well as the expressions of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Methods : Cells were treated with 200 ng/mL of LPS 30 min prior to the addition of SRH. Cell viability was measured by MTS assay. The production of nitric oxide (NO) was determined by reacting cultured medium with Griess reagent. The content of level of cytokines (PGE, IL-6) in media from LPS-stimulated Raw 264.7 cells was analyed by ELISA kit. The expression of COX-2, iNOS and MAPKs was investigated by Western blot, RT-PCR. Results : We found that SRH inhibited LPS-induced NO, $PGE_2$ and IL-6 productions as well as the expressions of iNOS and COX-2. Furthermore, SRH suppressed the LPS-induced phosphorylation of MAPK and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK 1/2) activation. Conclusions : These results suggest that SRH has inhibitory effects on LPS-induced $PGE_2$, NO, and IL-6 production, as well as the expressions of iNOS and COX-2 in the murine macrophage. These inhibitory effects occur through blockades on the phosphorylation of MAPKs following activation.