21-O-Angeloyltheasapogenol E3, a Novel Triterpenoid Saponin from the Seeds of Tea Plants, Inhibits Macrophage-Mediated Inflammatory Responses in a NF-κB-Dependent Manner

Figure 2

The effects of ATS-E3 on macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses. (a) RAW264.7 cells (1 × 10⁶ cells/mL) were treated with ATS-E3 for 6 or 24 h. Cell viability was evaluated using the MTT assay. (b) RAW264.7 cells preincubated with ATS-E3 (left panel) or BAY11-7082 (right panel) were treated with FITC-dextran (1 mg/mL) for 2 h. The level of dextran uptake was determined by flow cytometric analysis. (c) Scavenging effect of ATS-E3 on reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in sodium nitroprusside- (SNP-) treated RAW264.7 cells was examined by flow cytometric analysis using DHR123 (20 μM) and SNP (0.25 mM). (d) NO inhibitory activities of ATS-E3 (left panel) or L-NAME (right panel) were determined with RAW264.7 cells (1 × 10⁶ cells/mL) treated with LPS (1 μg/mL) in the presence or absence of ATS-E3 or L-NAME for 24 h. The cell culture supernatants were collected, and the concentrations of NO in the supernatants were determined using the Griess assay. and compared to control group.

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