Lobohedleolide induces interleukin-8 production in LPS-stimulated human monocytic cell line THP-1

Lobohedleolide (1) has been isolated from a soft coral, Sarcophyton sp., as one of three responsible substances for observed inhibitory activity against TNF-α production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine macrophage-like RAW 264.7 cells. During the examination of other inflammatory cytokines, we found that only 1 induced the production of interleukin (IL)-8 in LPS-stimulated human monocytic THP-1 cells, while the other two compounds did not affect the production of IL-8. Although 1 showed an inhibitory effect on nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) activation, this compound induced IL-8 promoter activity, which led to the induction of IL-8 production in LPS-stimulated THP-1 cells. Industrial Relevance: Marine organisms are a rich resource of biologically active secondary metabolites. Two marine natural products and two derivatives of marine sponge compounds have been utilized for medical treatment, and marked numbers of marine natural products and their derivatives are now in clinical and pre-clinical trials. Therefore, marine natural products are attractive sources of medicines and their lead compounds, and elucidation of new bioactivity and the mechanism of action of marine natural products are also a very important study for drug discovery. This report describes a new bioactivity of a diterpene previously obtained from an Indonesian soft corral.