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Curcumin inhibits poly(dA:dT)-induced IL-18 secretion by inhibiting the ASC oligomerization in human keratinocytes

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Abstract

Backgrounds

Interleukin (IL)-18, a member of the IL-1 family, has been implicated in the development of a variety of inflammatory skin diseases. The binding of double-stranded (ds) DNA to absent in melanoma (AIM) 2 induces the oligomerization of apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (ASC) and the recruitment of pro-caspase-1, which leads to the activation of caspase-1, subsequently resulting in the secretion of IL-1β and IL-18. Curcumin is a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound in Curcuma longa and is also well known to have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In the current study, we focused on the inhibitory effect of curcumin on ASC oligo-merization in human keratinocytes.

Methods

The IL-18 level was measured by using an ELISA kit. The protein levels of AIM2 inflammasome components, such as AIM2, ASC, and pro-caspase-1, were determined by using a western blot. The level of ASC oligomerization was also determined by using a western blot.

Results

Our results show pre-treatment with curcumin attenuated poly (dA:dT)-induced secretion of IL-18 in IFN-γ-primed human keratinocytes. Pre-treatment with 10 µM curcumin was also found to inhibit ASC oligomerization in IFN-γ-primed cells.

Conclusion

These collective results show that curcumin inhibits the poly (dA:dT)-induced secretion of IL-18 via the suppression of ASC oligomerization in IFN-γ-primed human keratinocytes.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grants from Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Korea Ministry of Health & Welfare (5-2018-A0082-00005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Hansen’s Disease, Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 222 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 06591, Republic of Korea

    Yujin Lee, Junghoon Kang, Mihee Yun & Seong-Beom Lee

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  1. Yujin Lee
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  2. Junghoon Kang
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  3. Mihee Yun
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  4. Seong-Beom Lee
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Correspondence to Seong-Beom Lee.

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Conflict of Interest

Yujin Lee, Junghoon Kang, Mihee Yun and Seong-Beom Lee declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and animal rights

The article does not contain any studies with human and animal and this study was performed following institutional and national guidelines.

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Lee, Y., Kang, J., Yun, M. et al. Curcumin inhibits poly(dA:dT)-induced IL-18 secretion by inhibiting the ASC oligomerization in human keratinocytes. Mol. Cell. Toxicol. 15, 399–406 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13273-019-0043-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13273-019-0043-7

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