Apium graveolens L. alleviates acute lung injury in human A-549 cells by reducing NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome signaling

L. (celery) is a dietary vegetable with anti-inflammatory properties. It has the potential to treat acute lung injury (ALI) caused by COVID-19 or other diseases. To investigate the effects of water extract (AGWE) on ALI in human lung A-549 cells induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). A-549 cells were treated with AGWE for 24 h and then stimulated with 10 μg/mL LPS for another 24 h. The effects of AGWE on cell viability, the inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and apoptosis and their regulatory factors, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), and NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome signaling activation were analyzed. Treatment with 5-50 μg/mL AGWE reversed the decrease in cell viability caused by LPS (