Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic respiratory inflammatory disease. Glycyrrhizin is a main bioactive component of the licorice root extract and exhibits anti-inflammatory activity. However, the role of glycyrrhizin in AR has not been studied. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of glycyrrhizin on histamine-induced human nasal epithelial cells (HNEpCs). Here, we found that glycyrrhizin (20 or 40 μM) inhibited histamine-induced the mRNA expression and secretion of mucin 5 subtype AC (MUC5AC), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 in HNEpCs. The expression levels of aquaporin 5 (AQP5) and phosphorylated cyclic adenosine monophosphate-responsive element binding protein (p-CREB) were decreased by histamine in HNEpCs and increased in cells treated with glycyrrhizin. The glycyrrhizin treatment inhibited histamine-induced expressions of p-NF-κB p65 and p-IκBα in HNEpCs, indicating that glycyrrhizin inhibited the activation of NF-κB pathway in histamine-induced HNEpCs. In addition, inhibition of the NF-κB pathway exhibited the similar effect with glycyrrhizin on histamine-induced HNEpCs. In summary, the results showed that glycyrrhizin reversed the effect of histamine on MUC5AC expression, inflammatory cytokine production, and AQP5 expression in HNEpCs, and the NF-κB pathway was involved in the effect. Glycyrrhizin might be used for complementary and alternative therapeutics of AR.

过敏性鼻炎（AR）是一种慢性呼吸道炎症性疾病。甘草甜素是甘草根提取物的主要生物活性成分，具有抗炎活性。然而，甘草甜素在 AR 中的作用尚未被研究。本研究的目的是研究甘草甜素对组胺诱导的人鼻上皮细胞（HNEpCs）的影响。在这里，我们发现甘草甜素（20或40 μM）抑制组胺诱导的HNEpCs中粘蛋白5亚型AC（MUC5AC）、白细胞介素（IL）-6和IL-8的mRNA表达和分泌。 HNEpC 中水通道蛋白 5 (AQP5) 和磷酸化环磷酸腺苷响应元件结合蛋白 (p-CREB) 的表达水平被组胺降低，而在用甘草酸处理的细胞中则升高。甘草甜素处理抑制组胺诱导的HNEpCs中p-NF-κB p65和p-IκBα的表达，表明甘草甜素抑制组胺诱导的HNEpCs中NF-κB通路的激活。此外，抑制 NF-κB 通路与甘草甜素对组胺诱导的 HNEpC 具有相似的作用。综上所述，结果表明，甘草甜素逆转了组胺对 HNEpCs 中 MUC5AC 表达、炎症细胞因子产生和 AQP5 表达的影响，并且 NF-κB 通路参与了该作用。甘草甜素可用于 AR 的补充和替代疗法。