Anti-inflammatory effects of Aged Garlic Extract (AGE) and its constituents: downregulation of induced expression of pro-inflammatory genes in bronchial epithelium-derived IB3-1 and Calu-3 cells

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is known to have antioxidant properties for scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) and is widely used in biomedical applications. The goal of this project is to describe whether, in IB3-1 and Calu-3 cells, Aged Garlic Extract (AGE) and its principal constituents can counteract the hyper-inflammatory status caused by inflammatory stimuli such as PAO (P. aeruginosa), TNF-α, SARS-CoV-2 Spike recombinant protein and BNT162b2 vaccine treatments. The objective is also to determine the anti-inflammatory effects of co-treatments based on AGE/AGE constituents and miRNA mimic molecules. Cytokine production has been measured at transcriptomic (RT-qPCR, RNA sequencing) and proteomic levels (Western Blot, Bio-Plex). Results demonstrate that treatments with AGE and/or its constituents reduce the expression and release of many cytokines, including IL-6, IL-8, IL1-β, and G-CSF. In addition, combined treatments with miRNA mimics lead to an increased inhibitory effect on cell inflammation, suggesting a potential application in pathologies involving airway hyper-inflammatory status, such as Cystic Fibrosis and COVID-19.