Inhibitory effects of paeonol on keratinocyte viability,cytokines secretion stimulated by IL-17A via STAT3 signaling pathway

AIM To observe the effect of paeonol on interleukin-17A （IL-17A）-induced human keratinocyte viability， cytokine secretion， and related signal transduction pathways. METHODS In vitro HaCaT cells stimulated by IL-17A （200 μg/L） were co-cultured with paeonol （200 mg/L and 100 mg/L） for 24 h. The cell viability was measured by CCK-8 assay. The Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokine （including IL-6， etc.） levels were measured by cytometric bead array assay. The IL-23 level was measured by ELISA. The mRNA expression of IL-23， IL-6， CXCL2， CXCL8， CCL20 and STAT3 was detected by real-time PCR， and Western blot was used to determine the protein levels of STAT3 and ERK1/2. RESULTS Paeonol significantly inhibited IL-17A-induced HaCaT cell viability （P<0.05）， as well as reduced IL-6 level. Meanwhile， paeonol decreased mRNA levels of IL-23， CXCL2， CXCL8， and CCL20. Paeonol also inhibited the expression of STAT3 at mRNA and protein levels. However， no significant effect of paeonol on ERK1/2 protein expression was observed. CONCLUSION Paeonol inhibits HaCaT cell viability and cytokine secretion induced by IL-17A， and its mechanism might be related to STAT3 singaling pathway.