Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Curcumin evokes antidepressant-like effects in mice by regulating miR-124/brain derived neurotrophic factor

Yanhong Yi¹, Jing Li² , Weian Chen²

¹Department of Psychiatry; ²Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of WenZhou Medical University, WenZhou City, ZheJiang Province 325000, China.

For correspondence:- Jing Li Email: lijingxjj@163.com Tel:+8657755579372

Accepted: 24 February 2019 Published: 31 March 2019

Citation: Yi Y, Li J, Chen W. Curcumin evokes antidepressant-like effects in mice by regulating miR-124/brain derived neurotrophic factor. Trop J Pharm Res 2019; 18(3):603-609 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v18i3.23

© 2019 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the effect and mechanism of curcumin on depression in mice

Methods: Mice were subjected to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), and behavioural changes were evaluated by sucrose preference test (SPT) and forced swimming test (FST). CUMS-treated mice received curcumin at a concentration of 50, 100, or 200 mg/kg. The level of MiR-124 was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels were evaluated by western blotting.

Results: CUMS induced depressive behaviour in mice, with increase in miR-124 and decrease in BDNF. Curcumin inhibited miR-124 expression and promoted BDNF in a dose-dependent manner in CUMS-treated mice. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor was the direct target of miR-124, decreasing the transcription of BDNF, but this was reversed by curcumin in vitro. MicroRNA-124 overexpression aggravated CUMS-induced depressive symptoms including loss of appetite, less sucrose consumption, shorter swimming time, and longer immobility time (p < 0.001). The effects were attenuated by curcumin.

Conclusion: Curcumin alleviates CUMS-induced depressive behaviour by regulating miR-124/BDNF, suggesting that curcumin may a viable treatment option for depression.

Keywords: Curcumin, MiR-124, Brain-derived neurotrophic factor, Depression, Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)