Dehydrocostus Lactone is a natural sesquiterpene that can be isolated from Saussurea lappa and inhibits the activity of IKKβ, the phosphorylation and degradation of IκBα [1]. Dehydrocostus Lactone can cause cell cycle arrest, induce cell apoptosis, reduce drug resistance, and inhibit angiogenesis of cancer cells [2]. Dehydrocostus Lactone has multiple activities such as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-tumor, and immunomodulatory [3-4].
In vitro, Dehydrocostus lactone (0-2mg/L; 48h) significantly reduced the viability of DU145 cells in a dose-dependent manner, induced cell apoptosis, and inhibited the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins and increased the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins [5]. Dehydrocostus lactone (0-30μM; 0.5h) treatment could inhibit the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, MK2 and Akt, the activation of NF-κB, reduce iNOS expression and NO production, and lower the mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β and IL-12 [6].
In vivo, Dehydrocostus lactone (5-20mg/kg/day; i.p.; single administration) treatment significantly alleviated the pathological damage in mice with acute lung injury induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), effectively reduced the infiltration of inflammatory cells and the thickening of the alveolar wall, and decreased the expression of lung cytokines [6]. Dehydrocostus lactone (10, 15 and 20mg/kg/day; 13 days; gavage) treatment alleviated the inflammation in mice with ulcerative colitis (UC) induced by glucose sodium sulfate (DSS), reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, MCP-1, MPO, SOD, IL-6, IL-17 and IL-23), downregulated the IL-6/STAT3 inflammatory signaling pathway, and inhibited downstream pathways (XBP1s and α-defensin) [7].
References:
[1] Wang J, Yu Z, Wang C, et al. Dehydrocostus lactone, a natural sesquiterpene lactone, suppresses the biological characteristics of glioma, through inhibition of the NF-κB/COX-2 signaling pathway by targeting IKKβ. Am J Cancer Res. 2017;7(6):1270-1284.
[2] Lohberger, B., Rinner, B., Stuendl, N., et al. Sesquiterpene lactones downregulate G2/M cell cycle regulator proteins and affect the invasive potential of human soft tissue sarcoma cells. PLoS One 8(6), (2013).
[3] Taniguchi M, et al. Costunolide and dehydrocostus lactone as inhibitors of killing function of cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 1995 Nov;59(11):2064-7.
[4] Cantrell CL, et al. Antimycobacterial activities of dehydrocostus lactone and its oxidation products. J Nat Prod. 1998 Oct;61(10):1181-6.
[5] Eun Ji Kim, et al. Apoptosis of DU145 human prostate cancer cells induced by dehydrocostus lactone isolated from the root of Saussurea lappa. Food and Chemical Toxicology Volume 46, Issue 12, December 2008, Pages 3651–3658.
[6] Nie Y, Wang Z, Chai G, et al. Dehydrocostus Lactone Suppresses LPS-induced Acute Lung Injury and Macrophage Activation through NF-κB Signaling Pathway Mediated by p38 MAPK and Akt. Molecules. 2019;24(8):1510.
[7] Zhou Q, Zhang W, He Z, et al. The possible anti‐inflammatory effect of dehydrocostus lactone on DSS‐induced colitis in mice[J]. Evidence‐Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2020, 2020(1): 5659738.