Meiling Sheng¹, Ruju Xu¹, Xiangying Wang¹, Yanyan Zhu¹, Chunli Zhang²

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the mitigating influence of curcumin on asthma in children, and the involvement of Foxp3 in the process. Methods: A rat model of asthma was successfully induced using ovalbumin (OVA). Twenty-four (24) rats were assigned to 3 cohorts: model, curcumin and control groups. At the cellular level, sorted CD4+ T cells were differentiated into regulatory T (Treg) cells and divided into 4 groups: Treg, Treg + curcumin, Treg + STAT5-IN-1 (STAT5 inhibitor) and Treg + curcumin + STAT5-IN-1 groups. Results: Curcumin significantly inhibited OVA-induced increases in eosinophils and lymphocytes and reduced airway pathological changes, relative to model rats (p < 0.05). There were marked increases in TGF-β and IL-10 contents in bronchial alveolar lavage fluid (BALF), relative to model rats. Furthermore, curcumin up-regulated p-STAT5 and Foxp3 in the lung tissues of rats, when compared with model group (p < 0.05). In cell experiments, curcumin significantly increased p-STAT5, Foxp3 and IL-10 levels, and enhanced the transformation of CD4+ T cells to more Treg cells (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Curcumin may affect the differentiation of Treg cells, as well as alleviate asthma in rats by targeting Foxp3 through STAT5 regulation. This research has identified the likely beneficial role of curcumin as therapeutic agent for pediatric asthma, but this has to be clinically validated