Partial liquid ventilation with various types of perfluorocarbon (PFC) has been
shown to be beneficial in treating acute lung injury, a clinical outcome that may
involve the anti-inflammatory activity of PFC. FC-77 is a type of PFC with
relatively higher vapor pressure and evaporative loss than other PFCs during
partial liquid ventilation. Overproduction of nitric oxide (NO) by inducible
nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) has been proposed to play a crucial role in the
pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. However, whether the iNOS/NO pathway is
affected by FC-77 is unknown. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate
whether FC-77 inhibits iNOS expression and NO production in lipopolysaccharide
(LPS)-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages. We found that treatment with FC-77
significantly attenuated LPS-induced iNOS expression/activity and production of
NO and reactive oxygen species (ROS). FC-77 also attenuated LPS-induced
pro-inflammatory cytokine formation, but enhanced interleukin-10 production.
Furthermore, the LPS-induced degradation of cytosolic IkappaB-alpha and
activation of nuclear transcription factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) were also inhibited
by FC-77. In conclusion, the present study is the first to demonstrate that FC-77
decreases LPS-induced NO production in macrophages, which may be associated with
the suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and ROS production, as well as
NF-kappaB activation. These results also provide a novel explanation for its
anti-inflammatory activity.