A research team led by Prof. HUANG Qing from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences found a new mechanism by which astaxanthin (AST) can target interleukin-6 (IL-6) and thus reduce lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced adverse inflammatory response in macrophages.

The research was published in Food & Function.

Astaxanthin is a kind of natural substance with strong antioxidant effect, recent research shows that it may also have some anti-inflammatory effect, but its specific mechanism is unknown.

In this study, the researchers selected human monocytic leukemia cell-derived macrophages (THP-1) as experimental cells and LPS as inflammatory stimuli to investigate the molecular mechanism of astaxanthin's anti-inflammatory effect.

They found that AST intervention significantly decreased LPS-induced oxidative stress, promoted cell repair, and reduced inflammatory cytokine damage by significantly inhibiting NF-κB translocation and activation, activating p53, and inhibiting STAT3. Through further analysis and experiments, the team confirmed that AST directly binds to IL-6, disrupting the inflammatory feedback loop and potentially preventing inflammatory storms.

The results suggest that the direct binding of astaxanthin to IL-6 can inhibit the positive feedback loop of inflammatory factors, which may inhibit the inflammatory storm caused by adverse inflammatory responses.

"Our study provides experimental and theoretical basis for astaxanthin as a dietary supplement with anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory functions," said WU Yahui, a member of the team.

Schematic diagram of the anti-inflammatory effects of AST. (Image by WU Yahui)