TY - JOUR
T1 - Curcumin provides neuroprotection after spinal cord injury
AU - Lin, Muh Shi
AU - Lee, Yi Hsuan
AU - Chiu, Wen Ta
AU - Hung, Kuo Sheng
PY - 2011/4
Y1 - 2011/4
N2 - Background: Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a major cause of long-term disability. However, therapeutic agents targeting SCI are sorely lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate whether curcumin has neuroprotective effects after SCI in rats. Materials and methods: Studies were performed in 39 male Sprague-Dawley rats after spinal cord hemisection. The animals were randomly divided into three groups: sham, vehicle, and curcumin. The Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scale was used to evaluate functional outcome. Specimens were tested for histologic, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling (TUNEL), and immunohistochemical staining. Primary cultured astrocytes were used to test the inhibitory effect of curcumin on glial reactivation. Results: The BBB scores for the affected hindlimb after hemisection were significantly improved in the curcumin-treated group compared with the vehicle group (on d 3 and 7; P <0.001). Immunohistochemistry of NeuN revealed remarkable neuronal loss in the vehicle group after hemisection. In comparison, curcumin significantly protected neurons after SCI (curcumin compared with vehicle; P <0.001). Furthermore, curcumin significantly attenuated apoptosis after SCI (curcumin compared with vehicle; P <0.001). RT-PCR demonstrated that the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was significantly inhibited by curcumin. Conclusions: Curcumin inhibited apoptosis and neuron loss, quenched astrocyte activation, and significantly improved neurologic deficit 7 d after spinal cord hemisection. By down-regulating GFAP expression, curcumin seems to attenuate astrocyte reactivation, which may be beneficial for neuronal survival. This is the first report demonstrating the successful treatment of SCI by curcumin.
AB - Background: Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a major cause of long-term disability. However, therapeutic agents targeting SCI are sorely lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate whether curcumin has neuroprotective effects after SCI in rats. Materials and methods: Studies were performed in 39 male Sprague-Dawley rats after spinal cord hemisection. The animals were randomly divided into three groups: sham, vehicle, and curcumin. The Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scale was used to evaluate functional outcome. Specimens were tested for histologic, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling (TUNEL), and immunohistochemical staining. Primary cultured astrocytes were used to test the inhibitory effect of curcumin on glial reactivation. Results: The BBB scores for the affected hindlimb after hemisection were significantly improved in the curcumin-treated group compared with the vehicle group (on d 3 and 7; P <0.001). Immunohistochemistry of NeuN revealed remarkable neuronal loss in the vehicle group after hemisection. In comparison, curcumin significantly protected neurons after SCI (curcumin compared with vehicle; P <0.001). Furthermore, curcumin significantly attenuated apoptosis after SCI (curcumin compared with vehicle; P <0.001). RT-PCR demonstrated that the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was significantly inhibited by curcumin. Conclusions: Curcumin inhibited apoptosis and neuron loss, quenched astrocyte activation, and significantly improved neurologic deficit 7 d after spinal cord hemisection. By down-regulating GFAP expression, curcumin seems to attenuate astrocyte reactivation, which may be beneficial for neuronal survival. This is the first report demonstrating the successful treatment of SCI by curcumin.
KW - apoptosis
KW - astrocyte primary culture
KW - astrocyte reactivation
KW - BBB scale
KW - curcumin
KW - functional outcome
KW - GFAP
KW - hemisection
KW - neuroprotection
KW - spinal cord injury
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jss.2009.07.001
DO - 10.1016/j.jss.2009.07.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 20018302
AN - SCOPUS:79952485690
SN - 0022-4804
VL - 166
SP - 280
EP - 289
JO - Journal of Surgical Research
JF - Journal of Surgical Research
IS - 2
ER -