Triptolide Inhibits Amyloid-β Production and Protects Neural Cells by Inhibiting CXCR2 Activity

Triptolide, a biologically active natural product from Tripterygium wilfordii, protects neurons from inflammation-mediated damage. Our results showed for the first time that triptolide inhibited the expression of CXCR2 and presenilin in a neuroblastoma cell line SHSY5Ysw. Moreover, triptolide potently inhibited amyloid-β_1-42 production with IC₅₀ value of 30 pM in HEK293sw cells or 2 nM in SHSY5Ysw cells, respectively. We also demonstrated that triptolide prevented primary cortical neurons from chemokine CXCL1-induced cytotoxicity. Therefore, our study indicates that the neural protective effect of triptolide is largely mediated by inhibiting CXCR2 activity.