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Curcumin inhibits ox-LDL-induced MCP-1 expression by suppressing the p38MAPK and NF-κB pathways in rat vascular smooth muscle cells

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Abstract

Objective

This study was designed to identify the inhibitory effect of curcumin on ox-LDL-induced monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) production and investigated whether the effects are mediated by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and NF-κB pathways in rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs).

Methods

The VSMCs cells were pretreated with curcumin, before stimulation with ox-LDL. The ox-LDL-induced MCP-1 expression was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Intracellular signaling was investigated by Western blot.

Results

The concentrations of MCP-1 in cell supernatant and were upregulated by ox-LDL in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Additionally, curcumin decreased the expression of MCP-1 in a dose-dependent manner under treatment with ox-LDL (100 μg/ml). Signal transduction studies indicated that the ox-LDL-induced MCP-1 expression in VSMCs could be partly reversed by the inhibitor of p38 MAPK (SB203580) and NF-κB (BAY11-7082), whereas the ERK inhibitor (PD98059) and the JNK inhibitor (SP600125) had no effect. Western blot revealed that curcumin reduced ox-LDL- induced p38 MAPK phosphorylation and nuclear NF-κB p65 protein at the indicated concentration.

Conclusion

Curcumin suppresses ox-LDL-induced MCP-1 expression in VSMCs via the p38 MAPK and NF-κB pathways, which suggests that the anti-inflammatory effect of curcumin is related to the down-regulation of MCP-1 expression and offers a new theoretical basis in the anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Feng jian for their excellent suggestions for this experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

    Yi Zhong, Tingrong Liu & Zhigang Guo

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  1. Yi Zhong
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  2. Tingrong Liu
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  3. Zhigang Guo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhigang Guo.

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Responsible Editor: Liwu Li.

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Zhong, Y., Liu, T. & Guo, Z. Curcumin inhibits ox-LDL-induced MCP-1 expression by suppressing the p38MAPK and NF-κB pathways in rat vascular smooth muscle cells. Inflamm. Res. 61, 61–67 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-011-0389-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-011-0389-3

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