Acacia honey is a globally popular antioxidant, immune-modulatory, and antiproliferative. Nasal fibroblasts participate in local immune responses that control the recruitment of inflammatory cells and the extracellular matrix production.

The present study aimed to determine the effect of acacia honey on myofibroblast differentiation and MMP-9 production in nasal polyp fibroblasts.

Primary nasal fibroblasts were isolated from nasal polyps and treated with TGF-β1. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis were then performed to determine α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinase-1, and MMP-9 mRNA expression and protein production in nasal polyp fibroblasts. Phosphorylated Smad (pSmad) 2/3 and phosphorylated adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (pAMPK) were then determined by Western blotting.

TGF-β1 stimulation increased α-SMA and MMP-9 mRNA expression and protein production in nasal polyp fibroblasts. Acacia honey effectively suppressed α-SMA and MMP-9 mRNA expression and protein production. It also prevented phosphorylation of Smad 2/3 and AMPK.

The study concluded that the Acacia honey can inhibit TGF-β1-induced myofibroblast differentiation and MMP-9 production in nasal fibroblasts. These results suggest that acacia honey might be useful for inhibiting nasal polyp formation.

Reference: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1945892419843702

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