• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1170-1176
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• 2005

2-Methyl-2-(2-methylpropenyl)-2,3-dihydronaphthoquinone[2,3-b]furan-4,9-dione (N FD-37) is a synthetic furonaphthoquinone compound. In this study, we determined that NFD-37 could inhibit the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of inflammatory mediators in macrophages RAW 264.7. This compound inhibited LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) or prostaglandin (PG) $E_{2}$ production in dose-dependent manners, with $IC_{50}$ values of 7.2 ${\mu}M$ and 5.3 ${\mu}m$, respectively. As the positive controls, pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (30 ${\mu}M$) exhibited a $57{\%}$ inhibition of NO production, and NS-398 ($1{\mu}M$) manifested a $48{\%}$ inhibition of $PGE_2$ production. The inhibitory effects of NFD-37 on NO and $PGE_2$ production were determined to occur in conjunction with the suppression of inducible NO synthase or cyclooxygenase-2 expression. NFD-37 also inhibited the production of LPS-inducible tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, interleukin (IL)-$1{\beta}$ and IL-6, at $IC_{50}$ values of 4.8-8.9 ${\mu}M$. We also determined the anti-inflammatory efficacy of NFD-37 using carrageenin-induced paw edema in experimental mice.