Experimental and Prescriptions of Chinese Medicine
Effects of curcumin on pulmonary inflammation and p38 expression in an infant murine model of pneumococcal pneumonia
Duan Wenjuan, Qing Song, Wang Jieling, Zheng Xueyan, Yang Kai
Published 2019-10-30
Cite as Int J Trad Chin Med, 2019,41(10): 1096-1100. DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.1673-4246.2019.10.014
Abstract
ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of curcumin on pneumococcal pneumonia-induced pneumonia, apoptosis and p38 MAPK expression in infant mice.
MethodsA total of 60 male infant C57BL/6 mice at three weeks of age were randomly divided into 6 groups: control group, model group, high-dose curcumin treatment group, middle-dose curcumin treatment group, low-dose curcumin treatment group and SB203580 treatment group. The Curcumin and SB203580 were intraperitoneally applied at doses of 200, 60, and 20 mg/kg (for curcumin) and 100 mg/kg (for SB203580) from two days before bacterial infection to three days post-infection. The control group and model group were intraperitoneally injected with an equal volume of saline. The model group, curcumin treatment groups and SB203580 treatment group were transnasally inoculated with approximately 106 CFU/ml of pneumococcal pneumonia in 50 μl of PBS applied to the tip of the nose to establish the experimental pneumococcal pneumonia. Subsequently, all the mice were killed and lung tissues were harvested for hematoxylin-eosin staining, calculation of lung score indexes, measurement of IL-1β and TNF-α contents by ELISA, and measurement of Bax, Bcl-2and p38 MAPK expression by Western blot.
ResultsCompared to the model group, the edema score (0.50 ± 0.10, 1.51 ± 0.16, 1.38±0.11, vs. 2.50 ± 0.20), hemorrhage score (0.32 ± 0.09, 1.01 ± 0.11, 0.85±0.09 vs. 1.80 ± 0.20), inflammatory cell infiltrate score (0.35 ± 0.09, 1.61 ± 0.16, 1.52±0.10 vs. 3.21 ± 0.22), small airway damage score (0.12 ± 0.03, 0.53 ± 0.14, 0.50±0.04 vs. 1.12 ± 0.19) in the medium-, high-dose group and SB203580 treatment group significantly decreased (P<0.01). Compared to the model group, the contents of IL-1β (20.38 ± 1.69 pg/ml, 25.73 ± 2.08 pg/ml vs. 40.22 ± 5.70 pg/ml) and TNF-α (160.39 ± 15.81 pg/ml, 198.67 ± 18.97 pg/ml vs. 282.22 ± 25.30 pg/ml), Bax/Bcl-2 (0.31 ± 0.05, 0.53 ± 0.06 vs. 1.79 ± 0.17) and expression of phosphorylated p38 MAPK (0.69 ± 0.05, 0.81 ± 0.07 vs. 1.71 ± 0.14) in the high-dose group and SB203580 treeatment group significantly decreased (P<0.01).
ConclusionsCurcumin can inhibit the inflammatory response and cellular apoptosis in the lungs of mice with pneumococcal pneumonia, and the mechanisms maybe related to its inhibition of p38 MAPK expression.
Key words:
Curcumin; Pneumonia; Pneumococcal infections; Apoptosis; Inflammation; p38 Mitogen-activated protein kinases; Mice
Contributor Information
Duan Wenjuan
Department of Pediatrics, Chengdu Secondary People’s Hospital, Chengdu 610017, China
Qing Song
Department of Pediatrics, Chengdu Secondary People’s Hospital, Chengdu 610017, China
Wang Jieling
Department of Pediatrics, Chengdu Secondary People’s Hospital, Chengdu 610017, China
Zheng Xueyan
Department of Pediatrics, Chengdu Secondary People’s Hospital, Chengdu 610017, China
Yang Kai
Department of Respiratory, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu 610500, China
