Abstract: Objective · To investigate the effect of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides on inflammatory cytokines in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) mice without myeloid differentiation factor 88 gene (MyD88-/-). Methods · Levels of interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-8, transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), and IL-10 in serum were assessedELISA in the MyD88-/-T2DM mice which had been administered with different doses of LBP (20, 40, and 80 mg/kg). Momacrophages Raw264.7 were stimulatedlipopolysaccharide (LPS) after treatment with different concentrations of LBP (25, 50, and 100 μg/mL). Then Western blotting was used to detect nuclear translocation level of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and protein s of inhibitor of NF-κB (IκB) and p-IκB. Results · Serum levels of IL-1β and TGF-β1 in MyD88-/-T2DM mice were down-regulatedLBP (P<0.05). Cell experiment proved that nuclear migration of NF-κB was dose-dependently inhibitedLBP, and the level of p-IκB was reducedhigh dose of LBP. Conclusion · LBP can reduce some proinflammatory cytokines in the MyD88-/-T2DM mice, which may be related with its inhibitive effect on the phosphorylation of IκB and nuclear migration of NF-κB in the macrophages.

Key words: Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP), myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), gene knockout, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), macrophage, inflammatory cytokine, nuclear factor &, kappa, B (NF-&, kappa, B)