RETRACTED ARTICLE: Flavocoxid, a dual inhibitor of COX-2 and 5-LOX of natural origin, attenuates the inflammatory response and protects mice from sepsis

C57BL/6J mice were subjected to CLP or sham operation. In a first set of experiments, an intraperitoneal injection of flavocoxid (20 mg/kg) or vehicle was administered 1 hour after surgery and repeated every 12 hours. Survival rate was monitored every 24 hours throughout 120 hours. Furthermore, additional groups of sham and CLP mice were killed 18 hours after surgical procedures for blood-sample collection and the lung and liver were collected for biomolecular, biochemical and histopathologic studies.

COX-2, 5-LOX, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, extracellular-regulated-kinase 1/2 (ERK), JunN-terminal kinase (JNK), NF-κB, and β-arrestin 2 protein expression were evaluated in lung and liver with Western blot analysis. In addition, leukotriene B₄ (LTB₄), prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), cytokines, and lipoxin A₄ serum content were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Flavocoxid administration improved survival, reduced the expression of NF-κB, COX-2, 5-LOX, TNF-α and IL-6 and increased IL-10 production. Moreover, flavocoxid inhibited the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) pathway, preserved β-arrestin 2 expression, reduced blood LTB₄, PGE₂, TNF-α and IL-6, and increased IL-10 and lipoxin A₄ serum levels. The treatment with flavocoxid also protected against the histologic damage induced by CLP and reduced the myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in the lung and liver.

Flavocoxid protects mice from sepsis, suggesting that this dual inhibitor may represent a promising approach in such a life-threatening condition.