Abstract
Corn silk has been purified as an anticoagulant previously and the active component is a polysaccharide with a molecular mass of 135 kDa. It activates murine macrophages to induce nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and generate substantial amounts of NO in time and dose-dependent manners. It was detectable first at 15 h after stimulation by corn silk, peaked at 24 h, and undetectable by 48 h. Induction of NOS is inhibited by pyrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) and genistein, an inhibitor of nuclear factor κ B (NF-κB) and tyrosine kinase, respectively, indicating that iNOS stimulated by corn silk is associated with tyrosine kinase and NF-κB signaling pathways. IκB-α degradation was detectible at 10 min, and the level was restored at 120 min after treatment of corn silk. Corn silk induced nuclear translocation of NF-κB by phosphorylation and degradation of IκB-α.
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Kim, K., Choi, SK. & Choi, HS. Corn silk induces nitric oxide synthase in murine macrophages. Exp Mol Med 36, 545–550 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/emm.2004.69
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/emm.2004.69
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