Naringenin, the aglycone of naringin, has been reported to attenuate MUC5AC secretion by inhibiting activity of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) via EGFR-PI3K-Akt/ERK MAPKinase signaling pathways. However, previous studies demonstrated that the MUC5AC promoter was located in two different regions: an activator protein-1 (AP-1) binding site and a NF-κB binding site. The current study comprehensively determined the involvement of MAPKs/AP-1 and IKKs/IκB/NF-κB in epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced A549 cells, and sought to ascertain the signaling pathways of naringin imparted in suppression of EGF-induced MUC5AC secretion. The results showed that naringin of 100 μM not only significantly decreased EGF-induced overexpressions of both MUC5AC mucin and mRNA in A549 cells, but also suppressed the phosphorylation of EGF receptor, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2), and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), as well as nucleus NF-κB p65 and AP-1. Moreover, any of three MAPKs inhibitors (PD98059, SB203580, and SP600125) significantly inhibited EGF-induced MUC5AC secretion. And as compared to MG132, the inhibitor κB (IκB) phosphorylation inhibitor of SN50 was more effective in reducing EGF-induced MUC5AC secretion because of suppression of nucleus AP-1. Meanwhile, as compared to naringin, both SP600125 and azithromycin were less effective in suppressing EGF-induced secretion of MUC5AC because of the unchanged nucleus NF-κB p65. These results indicated that naringin attenuates EGF-induced MUC5AC secretion in A549 cells by suppressing the cooperative activities of MAPKs/AP-1 and IKKs/IκB/NF-κB signaling pathways.
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