Artesunate activates Nrf2 pathway-driven anti-inflammatory potential through ERK signaling in microglial BV2 cells.

Chronic inflammatory response in the brain is a characteristic etiopathology of various neurodegenerative diseases; consequently increasing the intrinsic anti-inflammatory potency could be an especially desirable strategy to prevent inflammation-related neuronal injuries. Transcription factor NF-E2-related factor-2 (Nrf2)-mediated control of redox homeostasis may participate in the modulation of microglial responses by regulating expression of important antioxidant and phase II detoxification genes. In our present work, we show that artesunate, a semi-synthetic derivative of anti-malarial agent artemisinin, attenuates LPS-induced inflammatory responses in microglial BV2 cells.