Chloroquine regulates the lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory response in RAW264.7 cells.

Introduction and objectives: Macrophage-induced inflammation plays a key role in defense against injury and harmful pathogens. Autophagy and the inflammatory response are associated; however, the relationship between the autophagy pathway and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- induced inflammatory responses remains unknown. We aimed to determine the effect of autophagy on the LPS-induced myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88)/nuclear transcription factor kB (NF-kB) pathway-mediated inflammatory response in RAW264.7 cells.

Materials and methods: To determine the effect of autophagy on the LPS-induced inflammatory response, using various in vitro assays, we determined the effect of autophagy inhibitors and inducers on the inflammatory response in RAW264.7 cells.

Results: Chloroquine (CQ), an autophagy inhibitor, suppressed pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. CQ also affected inflammatory mediators such as myeloid differentiation factor 88 and NF-kB in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that CQ regulates the LPS-induced inflammatory response in RAW264.7 cells. We propose that targeting the regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and inflammatory mediators using CQ is a promising therapeutic approach for preventing inflammatory injury. CQ serves as a potential therapeutic target for treating various inflammatory diseases.