Incubation of ex vivo cultured mature B cells in the presence of nitric oxide or nitric oxide-donor substances delays programmed cell death as determined by the appearance of DNA laddering in agarose gel electrophoresis or by flow-cytometry analysis of DNA. Nitric oxide also rescues B cells from antigen-induced apoptosis but fails to provide a co-stimulatory signal that converts the signal elicited by the antigen into a proliferative response. The protective effects of nitric oxide against programmed cell death can be reproduced by treatment of the cells with permeant analogues of cyclic GMP. Regarding the mechanisms by which nitric oxide prevents apoptosis in B cells, we have observed that nitric oxide release prevents the drop in the expression of the protooncogene bcl-2, both at the mRNA and protein levels, suggesting the existence of an unknown pathway that links nitric oxide signaling with Bcl-2 expression.

Activation of the macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and gamma interferon (IFN-γ) induces the expression of gene products involved in host defense, among them type 2 nitric oxide synthase. Treatment of cells with 15-deoxy-Δ^12,14-prostaglandin J₂(15dPGJ₂) inhibited the LPS- and IFN-γ-dependent synthesis of NO, a process that was not antagonized by similar concentrations of prostaglandin J₂, prostaglandin E₂, or rosiglitazone, a peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor γ ligand. Incubation of activated macrophages with 15dPGJ₂ inhibited the degradation of IκBα and IκBβ and increased their levels in the nuclei. NF-κB activity, as well as the transcription of NF-κB-dependent genes, such as those encoding type 2 nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase 2, was impaired under these conditions. Analysis of the steps leading to IκB phosphorylation showed an inhibition of IκB kinase by 15dPGJ₂ in cells treated with LPS and IFN-γ, resulting in an impaired phosphorylation of IκBα, at least in the serine 32 residue required for targeting and degradation of this protein. Incubation of partially purified activated IκB kinase with 2 μM 15dPGJ₂ reduced by 83% the phosphorylation in serine 32 of IκBα, suggesting that this prostaglandin exerts direct inhibitory effects on the activity of the IκB kinase complex. These results show rapid actions of 15dPGJ₂, independent of peroxisomal proliferator receptor γ activation, in macrophages challenged with low doses of LPS and IFN-γ.

Natural products play a significant role in human health in relation to the prevention and treatment of inflammatory conditions. Among them, terpenoids (also referred to as terpenes), are the largest and most widespread class of secondary metabolites. They are found in higher plants, mosses, liverworts, algae and lichens, and also in insects, microbes or marine organisms. Some terpenoids have been used for therapeutic purposes for centuries as antibacterial, antiinflammatory, antitumoral agents, and in recent decades research activity into the clinical potential of this class of compounds has increased continuously as a source of pharmacologically interesting agents. In the present review, molecular basis of the anti-inflammatory action of diterpenoids is presented with special emphasis on their ability to modulate critical cell signaling pathways involved in the inflammatory response of the body such as nuclear transcription factor-kappaB (NF-κB) activation. NF-κB plays an important role in the regulation of immune and inflammatory responses. Indeed, deregulated NF-κB expression is a characteristic phenomenon in several inflammatory diseases and NF-κB has become a major target in drug discovery. Hence, this article also introduces our recently elucidated findings about the potential of labdane diterpenoids as anti-inflammatory agents due to their ability to inhibit NF-κB. The future development of this class of compounds as anti-inflammatory drugs requires the introduction of novel molecular targets of therapeutic relevance in addition to biotechnological approaches for the production of these molecules.