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REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1467193
This article is part of the Research Topic Natural Products and Immune Inflammation: Mechanistic Understanding Based on Systems Biology View all 19 articles

Decoding Nature: Multi-target Anti-inflammatory Mechanisms of Natural Products in the TLR4/NF-κB Pathway

Provisionally accepted
Yue Zhao Yue Zhao 1Xiaolan Liu Xiaolan Liu 2Jiacai Wu Jiacai Wu 3Xu Chen Xu Chen 4*Juan Wang Juan Wang 5*
  • 1 college of pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
  • 2 college of pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China
  • 3 College of Intelligent Medicine and Biotechnology, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
  • 4 Key Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
  • 5 Guangxi Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine in Liver Injury and Repair, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Natural products are valuable medicinal resources in the field of anti-inflammation due to their significant bioactivity and low antibiotic resistance. Research has demonstrated that many natural products exert notable anti-inflammatory effects by modulating the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathways. The research on related signal transduction mechanisms and pharmacological mechanisms is increasingly being discovered and validated. However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive reviews focusing on the pharmacological mechanisms of natural products targeting the TLR4/NF-κB pathway for antiinflammatory effects. In light of these considerations, this review comprehensively synthesizes recent research findings concerning the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway, including the translocation of TLR4 activation to lysosomes within the cytoplasm, the assembly of protein complexes mediated by ubiquitin chains K63 and K48, and the deacetylation modification of p65. These discoveries are integrated into the classical TLR4/NF-κB pathway to systematically elucidate the latest mechanisms among various targets. Additionally, we summarize the pharmacological mechanisms by which natural products exert anti-inflammatory effects through the TLR4/NF-κB pathway. This aims to elucidate the multitarget advantages of natural products in the treatment of inflammation and their potential applications, thereby providing theoretical support for molecular pharmacology research on inflammation and the development of novel natural anti-inflammatory drugs.

    Keywords: Natural Products, NF-κB pathway, TLR4 pathway, Inflammation, Molecular Pharmacology

    Received: 19 Jul 2024; Accepted: 18 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhao, Liu, Wu, Chen and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xu Chen, Key Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, 541004, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
    Juan Wang, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine in Liver Injury and Repair, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, 541004, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.