Effects Unripe and Ripe Rubus coreanus Miquel on Peritoneal Macrophage Gene Expression Using cDNA Microarray Analysis

ABSTRACT Rubus coreanus Miquel (RCM) has been used as one of the Korean traditional medicines for prostate health. In addition, recent studies have reported that RCM reduced chronic inflammatory diseases such as cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of unripe and ripe RCM on inflammation- related gene expressions in LPS-stimulated mouse peritoneal macrophages. Mice were fed with 2% unripe RCM (U2), 10% unripe RCM (U10), 2% ripe RCM (R2), and 10% ripe RCM (R10) for 8 weeks. Peritoneal macrophages were isolated and stimulated with LPS then proinflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6), and prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) productions were assessed. Moreover, gene expression profiles were analyzed by cDNA microarray method. Unripe and ripe RCM significantly reduced TNF-α production but only unripe RCM decreased IL-1β and IL-6 production. RCM intake significantly reduced inflammatory-related gene expressions such as arachidonate 5-lip-oxygenase, interleukin 11, and nitric oxide synthase 2. Furthermore, unripe and ripe RCM significantly decreased ceruloplasmin, tissue plasminogen activator, thrombospondin 1, and vascular endothelial growth factor A expression which modulates symptoms of chronic inflammatory diseases. RCM intake also significantly increased hypoxia inducible factor 3, alpha which is the negative regulators of hypoxia-inducible gene expression. Furthermore, only unripe RCM reduced chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 8, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 14, and phospholipase A2 expression. In this study, we showed that RCM had anti-inflammatory effects by suppression of pro-inflammatory mediator ex-pressions and may reduce chronic inflammatory disease progress through regulation of gene expressions. These findings suggest that RCM might be used as a potential functional material to reduce chronic inflammatory responses.