Fig. 9
Experimental validation of the candidate drugs. a QRT-PCR and b ELISA showed piperlongumine and fisetin suppressed the expression of inflammatory cytokines. c Piperlongumine and fisetin reversed the increased intracellular Fe2+ induced by F. nucleatum stimulation. Scale bar: 20 μm. d Effect of piperlongumine and fisetin on the mitochondrial membrane potential. Scale bar: 20 μm. e Quantitative assessment of FerroOrange and JC-1 fluorescence. f The ratio of JC-1 monomers/aggregates. g Molecular docking between piperlongumine and main targets. h Effects of piperlongumine on the phosphorylation of IKK, p38, and NF-κB p65 detected by Western blot analysis. i Quantitative analysis of altered protein expression of these proteins used ImageJ. Data were expressed as mean ± SD. (n = 3) (*P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001, compared with the control group; #P < 0.05; ##P < 0.01; ###P < 0.001)
