• DOI:10.1002/cbf.1807
• Corpus ID: 22716503

Effect of L‐carnitine on the synthesis of nitric oxide in RAW 264·7 murine macrophage cell line

@article{Ko2011EffectOL,
  title={Effect of L‐carnitine on the synthesis of nitric oxide in RAW 264·7 murine macrophage cell line},
  author={Aslı Koç and Tulin Ozkan and Arzu Zeynep Karabay and Asuman Sunguroglu and Fugen Aktan},
  journal={Cell Biochemistry and Function},
  year={2011},
  volume={29}
}

• A. Koç, T. Ozkan, +2 authors F. Aktan
• Published 1 December 2011
• Biology
• Cell Biochemistry and Function

L‐Carnitine (β‐hydroxy‐γ‐trimethyl aminobutyric acid) plays a critical role in inflammatory diseases by modulating inflammatory cell functions. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), a proinflammatory enzyme responsible for the generation of nitric oxide (NO), has been implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. Mechanism of action of L‐carnitine on inflammation via iNOS and nuclear factor κB (NF‐κB) is unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of L‐carnitine on nitric oxide synthesis in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐stimulated RAW 264·7 macrophage cells. For this purpose, cells were pretreated with various concentrations of L‐carnitine and subsequently incubated with LPS (1 µg·ml−1). NO levels, iNOS protein expression, and NF‐κB activity were determined using colorimetric detection, Western blotting and transfection assays. Our results showed that treatment with L‐carnitine suppressed nitric oxide production, iNOS protein expression and NF‐κB activity. We demonstrated that inhibitory effect of L‐carnitine on iNOS protein expression is at transcriptional level. This study may contribute to understanding the anti‐inflammatory effect of L‐carnitine. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.