Anti-inflammatory changes of gene expression by Artemisia iwayomogi in the LPS-stimulated human gingival fibroblast: microarray analysis.

The leaves and stems of Asteraceae Artemisia iwayomogi (Ai) for a long time have been known to inhibit inflammatory cytokine production and allergic reactions, and have been used to treat liver diseases. It needs to be elucidated in terms of global gene expression whether Ai has an influence as an anti-inflammatory agent on the cultured human gingival fibroblast stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This study investigated the anti-inflammatory changes of the genes by Ai using the Affymetrix genechip human gene 1.0 ST array when the cultured human gingival fibroblast was treated with LPS. It was observed that the inflammation- and immune response-related genes were activated by LPS challenge in the cultured human gingival fibroblast. The array analysis showed that 65 of the 344 genes up-regulated by LPS stimulation, when compared to the control, were down-regulated by the Ai treatment. A number of inflammation- and immune response-related genes of the 65 genes were found. In addition, 78 of the 164 genes down-regulated by the LPS, when compared to the control, were up-regulated by the Ai treatment. The regulatory patterns of the representative genes were correlated with the real-time RT-PCR analysis. The Ai extract and its specific components, scopolin and scopoletin, significantly hindered the production of inflammatory mediators such as IL-6, TNF-α and nitrite in the LPS-challenged fibroblast. This study suggests that Ai can comprehensively inhibit the activation of the inflammation- and immune response-related genes and the inflammatory mediators in the human gingival fibroblast.