姜黄素对雄激素非依赖性前列腺癌细胞Notch信号通路的影响

目的 观察姜黄紊(Curcumin,Cur)对雄激素非依赖性前列腺癌细胞株PC3体外生长及Notch信号通路的影响.方法 应用噻唑蓝(MTT)法、流式细胞术、透射电镜、RT-PCR法观察了6.25、12.5、25.0、50.0 μmol/L浓度姜黄素对PC3细胞生长及Notch1 mRNA和蛋白,Jagged1、Hes1mRNA表达的影响.结果 姜黄素以剂量和时间依赖性方式抑制PC3细胞的生长(F6.25=17.840,F12.5=20.479,F25=99.091,F50=8.40,F24=1081.70,F48=51.495,F72=155.24,P均＜0.01);诱导G2/M期停滞(FS=1708.20,FG2/M=1580.40,P均＜0.01);促进凋亡(F=208.23,P＜0.01);随着Cur梯度浓度引起Notchl、Hesl mRNA分别增高(F=4.872,P＜0.05;F=29.562,P＜0.01),Notch1蛋白表达升高(F=4.579,P＜0.05),JaggedlmRNA的表达下降(F=74.160,P＜0.01).结论 姜黄素能上调Notch1、Hes1,下调Jaggnd1的表达,激活Notch信号通路,是其发挥抗前列腺癌的机制之一.     

姜黄素对TGF-β1诱导人肾小管上皮细胞转分化及分泌细胞外基质成分的影响

目的：通过研究姜黄素（curcumin,Cur）对转化生长因子-β1（TGF-β1）诱导人肾小管上皮细胞（HK-2）转分化及分泌细胞外基质（ECM）成分的影响,探讨姜黄素在防治肾小管-间质纤维化方面可能的作用机制。方法：应用不同浓度Cur处理经TGF-β1诱导活化的HK-2细胞,通过显微镜观察细胞形态改变,免疫组化技术检测α-平滑肌肌动蛋白（α-SMA）和E-钙黏蛋白（E-cadherin）的表达;应用酶联免疫吸附法（ELISA）检测细胞培养上清Ⅰ型胶原（ColⅠ）、Ⅲ型胶原（ColⅢ）和纤连蛋白（FN）的分泌。结果：（1）正常HK-2细胞表达E-cadherin,不表达α-SMA,经TGF-β1刺激后细胞表型发生转变,E-cadherin的表达明显减弱,α-SMA表达明显增强;（2）不同浓度Cur组与单纯TGF-β1刺激组相比α-SMA的表达有所减弱,而E-cadherin的表达增强;（3）不同浓度Cur抑制了ColⅠ、ColⅢ和FN的分泌,与单纯TGF-β1刺激组相比有统计学差异（P〈0.05）。结论：姜黄素能抑制TGF-β1诱导人肾小管上皮细胞转分化及细胞外基质成分ColⅠ、ColⅢ和FN的合成,在一定程度上具有防治肾小管-间质纤维化的作用。     

Curcumin down-regulates Ets-1 and Bcl-2 expression in human endometrial carcinoma HEC-1-A cells

OBJECTIVE: Curcumin has been demonstrated to have an anti-tumor activity but the underlying molecular mechanisms are not fully uncovered. The present study was undertaken to determine the effect of curcumin on the expression of the proto-oncogene Ets-1 and the anti-apoptotic molecule Bcl-2 in human endometrial adenocarcinoma HEC-1-A cells. METHODS: Confluent HEC-1-A cells were treated with curcumin at various doses for 16 h or at 60 microM for various time points. At the end of the designated treatments, changes in cell morphology, DNA fragmentation and protein contents of Ets-1 and Bcl-2 were determined, respectively, by light microscopy, DNA laddering assay and Western blot analysis. As an initial step towards understanding whether Ets-1 was a possible up-stream regulator of Bcl-2 expression in HEC-1-A cells and if so, whether curcumin could attenuate the Ets-1-induced up-regulation of Bcl-2 expression, cells were transiently transfected with an Ets-1/GFP (Green Fluorescence Protein) fusion construct and the transfectants were treated with 60 microM curcumin for 16 h, followed by whole cell lysate preparation for Western blot analysis of Bcl-2 protein contents. RESULTS: Curcumin induced apoptosis-like morphological changes and DNA degradation and decreased basal levels of Ets-1 and Bcl-2 protein contents in HEC-1-A cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Overexpression of Ets-1 in the cell resulted in an increase in Bcl-2 protein contents and that increase was attenuated by curcumin treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Curcumin down-regulates Ets-1 and Bcl-2 expression and induces apoptosis in HEC-1-A cells, suggesting a novel molecular mechanism for the anti-tumor activity of curcumin.     

Curcumin-releasing mechanically adaptive intracortical implants improve the proximal neuronal density and blood–brain barrier stability

The cellular and molecular mechanisms by which neuroinflammatory pathways respond to and propagate the reactive tissue response to intracortical microelectrodes remain active areas of research. We previously demonstrated that both the mechanical mismatch between rigid implants and the much softer brain tissue, as well as oxidative stress, contribute to the neurodegenerative reactive tissue response to intracortical implants. In this study, we utilize physiologically responsive, mechanically adaptive polymer implants based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), with the capability to also locally administer the antioxidant curcumin. The goal of this study is to investigate if the combination of two independently effective mechanisms – softening of the implant and antioxidant release – leads to synergistic effects in vivo. Over the first 4 weeks of the implantation, curcumin-releasing, mechanically adaptive implants were associated with higher neuron survival and a more stable blood–brain barrier at the implant–tissue interface than the neat PVA controls. 12 weeks post-implantation, the benefits of the curcumin release were lost, and both sets of compliant materials (with and without curcumin) had no statistically significant differences in neuronal density distribution profiles. Overall, however, the curcumin-releasing softening polymer implants cause minimal implant-mediated neuroinflammation, and embody the new concept of localized drug delivery from mechanically adaptive intracortical implants.     

Microfluidic System Based High Throughput Drug Screening System for Curcumin/TRAIL Combinational Chemotherapy in Human Prostate Cancer PC3 Cells

We have developed a fully automated high throughput drug screening (HTDS) system based on the microfluidic cell culture array to perform combinational chemotherapy. This system has 64 individually addressable cell culture chambers where the sequential combinatorial concentrations of two different drugs can be generated by two microfluidic diffusive mixers. Each diffusive mixer has two integrated micropumps connected to the media and the drug reservoirs respectively for generating the desired combination without the need for any extra equipment to perfuse the solution such as syringe pumps. The cell array is periodically exposed to the drug combination with the programmed LabVIEW system during a couple of days without extra handling after seeding the cells into the microfluidic device and also, this device does not require the continuous generation of solutions compared to the previous systems. Therefore, the total amount of drug being consumed per experiment is less than a few hundred micro liters in each reservoir. The utility of this system is demonstrated through investigating the viability of the prostate cancer PC3 cell line with the combinational treatments of curcumin and tumor necrosis factor-alpha related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL). Our results suggest that the system can be used for screening and optimizing drug combination with a small amount of reagent for combinatorial chemotherapy against cancer cells.     

Effect of nanostructured lipid vehicles on percutaneous absorption of curcumin

The present study describes the production and characterization of monoolein aqueous dispersions (MAD) and lecithin organogels (ORG) as percutaneous delivery systems for curcumin (CUR).In particular, MAD stabilized by sodium cholate/poloxamer and w₀ 3 ORG lipid carriers, both in the presence and absence of CUR, have been considered: MAD morphology and dimensional distribution have been investigated by Cryogenic Transmission Electron Microscopy (cryo-TEM) and Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (PCS), while the inner structure of MAD and ORG has been studied by X-ray scattering techniques. As a general result, CUR chemical stability has been found to be better controlled by MAD, probably because CUR is more protected in the case of CUR-MAD with respect to CUR-ORG.To investigate the performance of differently composed lipid formulations as CUR delivery system, in vitro studies, based on Franz cell and stratum corneum–epidermis (SCE) membranes, and in vivo studies, based on skin reflectance spectrophotometry and tape stripping, were then performed. The results indicated that ORG induces a rapid and intense initial penetration of CUR probably due to a strong interaction between the peculiar supramolecular aggregation structure of phospholipids in the vehicle and the lipids present in the stratum corneum. Conversely, CUR incorporated into MAD can be released in a controlled fashion possibly because of the formation of a CUR depot in the stratum corneum. In this respect ORG could be employed in pathologies requiring rapid CUR action, while MAD could be proposed for assuring a prolonged CUR activity.     

姜黄素衍生物B06对2型糖尿病大鼠肝脏的保护作用

 目的:研究姜黄素衍生物B06对2型糖尿病大鼠肝脏的保护作用及机制。方法:雄性SD大鼠35只，随机均分成5组：正常对照组、高脂组、高脂治疗组、糖尿病组和糖尿病治疗组。采用高脂饮食加链脲佐菌素诱导2型糖尿病大鼠模型。高脂治疗组及糖尿病治疗组用0.2 mg· kg-1·d-1B06灌胃8周。治疗结束后用光镜和透射电镜观察大鼠肝组织的形态学改变，并用Western blotting方法检测肝脏AMP活化蛋白激酶α（AMPKα）和磷酸化AMPKα（p-AMPKα）蛋白的表达。结果:高脂组及糖尿病组大鼠肝脏显示肝细胞脂肪变性、坏死，炎症细胞浸润，纤维组织增生，2型糖尿病大鼠和高脂血症大鼠肝脏组织p-AMPKα表达降低；经B06干预后，糖尿病大鼠和高脂血症大鼠肝脏的形态学损害明显得到改善，且肝脏组织p-AMPKα的表达水平升高（P<0.05）。结论:B06对2型糖尿病大鼠的肝脏具有保护作用,可能与其上调肝脏p-AMPKα蛋白表达有关。     

Curcumin improves the recovery of motor function and reduces spinal cord edema in a rat acute spinal cord injury model by inhibiting the JAK/STAT signaling pathway

Curcumin, a yellow pigment extracted from Carcuma longa, has been demonstrated to have extensive pharmacological activity in various studies, and it exhibits protective effects on injuries involving a number of human organs. The present study was designed to evaluate the potential effect and underlying mechanism of curcumin on the motor function and spinal cord edema in a rat acute spinal cord injury (SCI) model. The SCI model was induced by a heavy object falling. At 30 min after the SCI was successfully induced, the animals were intraperitoneally given 40 mg/kg curcumin. The Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan scores showed that curcumin moderately improved the recovery of the motor function in the injured rats, and hematoxylin–eosin staining demonstrated the role of this compound in reducing the hemorrhage, edema and neutrophil infiltration of the traumatic spinal cord. Furthermore, curcumin also inhibited the SCI-associated aquaporin – 4 (AQP4) overexpression and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and repressed the unusual activation of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that curcumin exhibits a moderately protective effect on spinal cord injury, and this effect might be related to the inhibition of overexpressed AQP4 and GFAP and the activated JAK/STAT signaling pathway. Curcumin may have potential for use as a therapeutic option for spinal cord injuries.