Dexamethasone and Fumaric Acid Ester Conjugate Synergistically Inhibits Inflammation and NF-κB in Macrophages
- 24 June 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Bioconjugate Chemistry
- Vol. 32 (8), 1629-1640
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.1c00200
Abstract
Macrophage-mediated inflammation drives autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. Treatment with anti-inflammatory agents can be an effective strategy to reduce this inflammation; however, high concentrations of these agents can have immune-dampening and other serious side effects. Synergistic combination of anti-inflammatory agents can mitigate dosing by requiring less drug. Multiple anti-inflammatory agents were evaluated in combination for synergistic inhibition of macrophage inflammation. The most potent synergy was observed between dexamethasone (DXM) and fumaric acid esters (e.g., monomethyl fumarate (MMF)). Furthermore, this combination was found to synergistically inhibit inflammatory nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) transcription factor activity. The optimal ratio for synergy was determined to be 1:1, and DXM and MMF were conjugated by esterification at this molar ratio. The DXM-MMF conjugate displayed improved inhibition of inflammation over the unconjugated combination in both murine and human macrophages. In the treatment of human donor monocyte-derived macrophages, the combination of DXM and MMF significantly inhibited inflammatory gene expression downstream of NF-kappa B and overall performed better than either agent alone. Further, the DXM-MMF conjugate significantly inhibited expression of NOD-, LRR-, and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome-associated genes. The potent anti-inflammatory activity of the DXM-MMF conjugate in human macrophages indicates that it may have benefits in the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship)
- National Institutes for Health (NIH NIAID R01AI137525, NIH NIAID R01AI141333,, NIH NIAID T32AI007273)
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