Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles modulates lipopolysaccharide-induced lung inflammation in Wistar rats

This study aimed to investigate the effect of intranasal treatment of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and Curcumin (Cur) on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute pulmonary inflammatory response. A single intraperitoneal injection of LPS (0.5 mg/Kg) was performed, and the animals in the Sham group were injected with 0.9% saline. Treatment was daily intranasally with GNPs (2.5 mg/L), Cur (10 mg/kg) and GNP-Cur started 12 h after LPS administration and ended on the seventh day. The results show that the treatment performed with GNP-Cur was the most effective to attenuate the action of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and a lower leukocyte count in the bronchoalveolar lavage, in addition to positively regulating anti-inflammatory cytokines in relation to other groups. As a result, it promoted an oxirreductive balanced environment in the lung tissue, providing a histological outcome with a reduction in inflammatory cells and greater alveolar area. The group treated with GNPs-Cur was superior to the other groups, with better anti-inflammatory activity and reduced oxidative stress, resulting in less morphological damage to lung tissue. In conclusion, the use of reduced GNPs with curcumin demonstrates promising effects in the control of the acute inflammatory response, helping to protect the lung tissue at the biochemical and morphological levels.     

Arylnitro monocarbonyl curcumin analogues: Synthesis and in vitro antitubercular evaluation

Curcumin is a natural product that has been reported to exhibit myriad pharmacological properties, one of which is antitubercular activity. It demonstrates antitubercular activity by directly inhibiting Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) and also enhances immune responses that ultimately lead to the elimination of M.tb by macrophages. This natural product is, however, unstable, and several analogues, noticeably monocarbonyl analogues, have been synthesized to overcome this challenge. Curcumin and its monocarbonyl analogues reported so far exhibit moderate antitubercular activity in the range of 7 to 16 μM. Herein, we report a straightforward synthesis of novel monocarbonyl curcumin analogues, their antitubercular activity, and the structure–activity relationship. The hit compound from this study, 3a , exhibits potent MIC₉₀ values in the range of 0.2 to 0.9 μM in both ADC and CAS media.     

Effect of curcumin on regulatory B cells in chronic colitis mice involving TLR/MyD88 signaling pathway

Curcumin (Cur) is a natural active phenolic compound extracted from the root of Curcuma Longa L. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and other pharmacological activities, and is commonly used to treat ulcerative colitis (UC). However, it is not clear whether curcumin regulates the function and differentiation of Breg cells to treat UC. In this study, mice with chronic colitis were induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), and treated with curcumin for 12 days. Curcumin effectively improved the body weight, colonic weight, colonic length, decreased colonic weight index and pathological injury score under colonoscopy in mice with chronic colitis, and significantly inhibited the production of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-33, CCL-2, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and promoted the secretion of IL-4, IL-10, IL-13 and IgA. Importantly, curcumin markedly upregulated CD3⁻CD19⁺CD1d⁺, CD3⁻CD19⁺CD25⁺, CD3⁻CD19⁺Foxp3⁺Breg cells level and significantly down-regulated CD3⁻CD19⁺PD-L1⁺, CD3⁻CD19⁺tim-1⁺, CD3⁻CD19⁺ CD27⁺ Breg cells level. In addition, our results also showed that curcumin observably inhibited TLR2, TLR4, TLR5, MyD88, IRAK4, p-IRAK4, NF-κB P65, IRAK1, TRAF6, TAB1, TAB2, TAK1, MKK3, MKK6, p38MAPK, p-p38MAPK and CREB expression in TLR/MyD88 signaling pathway. These results suggest that curcumin can regulate the differentiation and function of Breg cell to alleviate DSS-induced colitis, which may be realized by inhibiting TLR/MyD88 pathway.     

Effects of curcumin/turmeric supplementation on obesity indices and adipokines in adults: A grade-assessed systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

In the present study, we explored the effect of curcumin/turmeric supplementation on anthropometric indices of obesity, leptin, and adiponectin. We searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar up to August 2022. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) investigating the impact of curcumin/turmeric on obesity indices and adipokines were included. We applied the Cochrane quality assessment tool to evaluate the risk of bias. The registration number is CRD42022350946. Sixty eligible RCTs, with a total sample size of 3691 individuals were included for quantitative analysis. We found that supplementation with curcumin/turmeric significantly reduced body weight (WMD: −0.82 kg, 95% CI: −1.30, −0.35; p = 0.001), body mass index (WMD: −0.30 kg/m², 95% CI: −0.53, −0.06, p = 0.013), waist circumference (WMD: −1.31 cm, 95% CI: −1.94, −0.69, p < 0.001), body fat percentage (WMD: −0.88%, 95% CI: −1.51, −0.25, p = 0.007), leptin (WMD = −4.46 ng/mL; 95% CI: −6.70, −2.21, p < 0.001), and increased adiponectin (WMD = 2.48 μg/mL; 95% CI: 1.34, 3.62, p < 0.001). Overall, our study shows that supplementation with curcumin/turmeric significantly improves anthropometric indices of obesity and adiposity-related adipokines (leptin and adiponectin). However, due to high between-studies heterogeneity, we should interpret the results with caution.     

Effect of curcumin on multidrug resistance in resistant human gastric carcinoma cell line SGC7901/VCR

AIM: To investigate the reversal effects of curcumin on multidrug resistance (MDR) in a resistant human gastric carcinoma cell line. METHODS: The cytotoxic effect of vincristine (VCR) was evaluated by MTT assay. The cell apoptosis induced by VCR was determined by propidium iodide (PI)-stained flow cytometry (FCM) and a morphological assay using acridine orange (AO)/ethidium bromide (EB) dual staining. P-glycoprotein (P-gp) function was demonstrated by the accumulation and efflux of rhodamine123 (Rh123) using FCM. The expression of P-gp and the activation of caspase-3 were measured by FCM using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated anti-P-gp and anti-cleaved caspase-3 antibodies, respectively. RESULTS: Curcumin, at concentrations of 5 micromol/L, 10 micromol/L, or 20 micromol/L, had no cytotoxic effect on a parent human gastric carcinoma cell line (SGC7901) or its VCR-resistant variant cell line (SGC7901/VCR). The VCR-IC50 value of the SGC7901/VCR cells was 45 times more than that of the SGC7901cells and the SGC7901/VCR cells showed apoptotic resistance to VCR. SGC7901/VCR cells treated with 5 micromol/L, 10 micromol/L, or 20 micromol/L curcumin decreased the IC50 value of VCR and promoted VCR-mediated apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Curcumin (10 micromol/L) increased Rh123 accumulation and inhibited the efflux of Rh123 in SGC7901/VCR cells, but did not change the accumulation and efflux of Rh123 in SGC7901 cells. P-gp was overexpressed in SGC7901/VCR cells, whereas it was downregulated after a 24-h treatment with curcumin (10 micromol/L). Resistant cells treated with 1 mumol/L VCR alone showed 77% lower levels of caspase-3 activation relative to SGC7901 cells, but the activation of caspase-3 in the resistant cell line increased by 44% when cells were treated with VCR in combination with curcumin. CONCLUSION: Curcumin can reverse the MDR of the human gastric carcinoma SGC7901/VCR cell line. This might be associated with decreased P-gp function and expression, and the promotion of caspase-3 activation in MDR cells.     

Protective effect of curcumin against arsenic-induced apoptosis in murine splenocytes in vitro

Arsenic is a potent environmental pollutant and immunotoxic agent. Curcumin is a natural anti-oxidant used to treat a broad variety of diseases. Here, the effects were investigated of curcumin on sodium arsenite-induced apoptosis in murine splenocytes in vitro. Cells were exposed to sodium arsenite (NaAsO₂, 5 µM) with and without curcumin (5 and 10 µg/ml) and incubated at 37°C for 12?h. NaAsO₂ caused a decrease in cell viability and induction of apoptosis. These outcomes were concurrent with increases in the numbers of cells with reactive oxygen species generation, loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential, an increase in the frequency of cells with sub-G₁ DNA content, and DNA fragmentation. Co-administration of curcumin with the NaAsO₂ caused significant recoveries in cell viability values and mitigation of the induced apoptosis-related molecular changes. A significant protection against apoptosis parameters in murine splenocytes simultaneously treated with NaAsO₂ and curcumin suggested a protective efficacy of curcumin. From the results it is concluded that the immuno-modulation exerted by curcumin might be attributed to its multifaceted effects including its anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic properties. These findings have implications not only for the under-standing of the toxicity of arsenic to murine splenocytes in vitro but are also potentially important for developing preventive and/or corrective strategies against/during chronic arsenicosis.     

Nanoengineered Thermoresponsive Magnetic Nanoparticles for Drug Controlled Release

Magnetic core–shell nanoparticles are one of the most interesting nanocarriers. Smart polymers can be attached to nanoparticles as a suitable shell. Cancer tissues, with higher temperature than normal one, are one of the best targets for these systems in which the polymeric shell shrinks and thus drugs are released. The aim of this research is to synthesize such a smart nanocarrier with a thermoresponsive shell. Magnetic nanoparticles are coated with poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide). Afterward, the as prepared nanoparticles are analyzed through different characterization methods (scanning electron microscope, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, carbon–hydrogen–nitrogen–sulfur elemental analysis, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy) and their response to the temperature is investigated in different temperatures (37 and 40 °C). Results demonstrate that a biocompatible nanocarrier with the average size of about 35 nm and 83% entrapment efficiency for curcumin is successfully synthesized. The drug release process shows a controlled behavior over temperature. It has an increasing trend by increasing the temperature from 4 to 37 °C and then to 40 °C. Moreover, the cytotoxicity of drug loaded nanocarrier is obviously increased at 40 °C compared to 37 °C. It can be concluded that this new smart nanotheranostics agent can be successfully applied for cancer treatment.     

姜黄素治疗急性百草枯中毒的临床研究

目的:探讨姜黄素治疗急性百草枯口服中毒的临床疗效。方法:选择2007年3月-2010年3月在院救治的急性百草枯口服中毒患者74例,分为常规治疗组、激素治疗组和姜黄素治疗组。3组均常规对症治疗,激素治疗组在此基础上给予地塞米松25mg,静脉注射,每日1次。姜黄素治疗组在此基础之上给予姜黄素500mg/kg,口服,每日1次。在治疗第3天、7天、21天进行疗效评价,并对各组患者所出现的并发症进行统计。常规治疗组、激素治疗组和姜黄素治疗组均根据服毒量分组比较(20%原液或相当量<50ml组和≥50ml组)。结果:中毒治疗第3天,7天,21天,各组相比较,激素治疗组和姜黄素治疗组存活率均明显比常规治疗组高(均P<0.05),而姜黄素治疗组生存率与激素治疗组相比差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。各组并发症发生率,即肺纤维化、急性肾功能衰竭、肝功能衰竭、MODS、DIC等并发症在激素治疗组和姜黄素治疗组均明显低于常规治疗组(均P<0.05),而激素治疗组与姜黄素治疗组之间比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论:对急性百草枯口服中毒患者给予姜黄素治疗,其存活率和严重并发症发生率得到一定程度的改善,初步显示较好的疗效。     

姜黄素联合全反式维甲酸诱导耐药的急性早幼粒细胞白血病细胞分化的实验研究

本研究旨在探讨姜黄素联合全反式维甲酸(ATRA)对耐药的急性早幼粒细胞白血病细胞分化的影响及其分子机制。以耐药的NB4-R1细胞为实验对象,对细胞进行计数和细胞形态学观察,应用流式细胞术(FCM)检测姜黄素单用或联合ATRA对NB4-R1细胞增殖、分化的影响;用Western blot检测AKT磷酸化在细胞分化中的变化。结果显示,全反式维甲酸对NB4-R1细胞增殖无影响,但可增强姜黄素对NB4-R1生长的抑制作用。单用姜黄素或全反式维甲酸对细胞分化无影响,姜黄素联合全反式维甲酸可明显诱导细胞CD11b表达,细胞在形态上呈明显分化特征。全反式维甲酸可在短时间内促进NB4细胞AKT第473苏氨酸磷酸化,而对NB4-R1细胞中的AKT磷酸化影响不大。姜黄素可以促进NB4-R1细胞AKT磷酸化,而联合全反式维甲酸可进一步增强AKT磷酸化。结论:PI3K/AKT通路失活可能是导致APL细胞耐药的因素之一,而姜黄素通过活化PI3K/AKT信号通路逆转APL耐药,促进NB4-R1细胞分化。