Berberine hydrochloride attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced endometritis in mice by suppressing activation of NF-κB signal pathway

• Berberine attenuates infiltration of neutrophils, MPO activity, and NO concentration.
• Bererine inhibits LPS-induced inflammatory mediators production.
• Berberine inhibits LPS-induced NF-κB activation.
• Berberine prevents LPS-induced endometritis.

Endometritis is a common disease in animal production and influences breeding all over the world. Berberine is one of the main alkaloids isolated from Rhizoma coptidis. Previous reports showed that berberine has anti-inflammatory potential. However, there have been a limited number of published reports on the anti-inflammatory effect of berberine hydrochloride on LPS-induced endometritis. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of berberine hydrochloride on LPS-induced mouse endometritis. Berberine hydrochloride was administered intraperitoneally at 1 h before and 12 h after LPS induction. Then, a biopsy was performed, and uterine myeloperoxidase (MPO) and nitric oxide (NO) concentrations were determined. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels in the uterus homogenate were measured by ELISA. The extent of IκB-α and P65 phosphorylation was detected by Western blot. The results showed that berberine hydrochloride significantly attenuated neutrophil infiltration, suppressed myeloperoxidase activity and decreased NO, TNF-αand IL-1βproduction. Furthermore, berberine hydrochloride inhibited the phosphorylation of the NF-κB p65 subunit and the degradation of its inhibitor, IκBα. These findings suggest that berberine hydrochloride exerts potent anti-inflammatory effects on LPS-induced mouse endometritis and might be a potential therapeutic agent for endometritis.