NF-κB inhibitory activity of polyoxygenated steroids from the Vietnamese soft coral Sarcophyton pauciplicatum

Chromatographic purification of the methanolic extract from the soft coral Sarcophyton pauciplicatum led to the isolation of three polyhydroxylated steroids 1-3, including a new compound, sarcopanol A (1). Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis and by comparison of the spectroscopic data with those of similar compounds previously reported in literature. The anti-inflammatory effects of isolated compounds were evaluated using nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) luciferase and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The effect of isolated compounds on cell growth was evaluated by MTS assays. Compounds 1 and 2 significantly inhibited TNFα/INFγ-induced NF-κB transcriptional activity in human keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells in a dose-dependent manner, with EC50 values of 8.27 ± 3.28 and 26.07 ± 5.59 μM, respectively. Furthermore, the transcriptional inhibition of these compounds was confirmed by a decrease in cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) gene expression levels in HaCaT cells.