Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Curcumin protects hepatocytes from sepsis by regulating inflammatory response and hepatocyte apoptosis

Guoyong Hu¹, Donglian Wang¹, Lihui Jiang², Lina Xu², Lidong Zhao¹, Minjie Zhou¹

¹Department of Emergency Medicine, The Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 201306, China; ²Department of Infectious Disease, The Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 201306, China.

For correspondence:- Minjie Zhou Email: aimerhgy@163.com

Accepted: 6 January 2022 Published: 31 January 2022

Citation: Hu G, Wang D, Jiang L, Xu L, Zhao L, Zhou M. Curcumin protects hepatocytes from sepsis by regulating inflammatory response and hepatocyte apoptosis. Trop J Pharm Res 2022; 21(1):67-71 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v21i1.11

© 2022 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the effect of curcumin on sepsis in rat hepatocytes, and the mechanism involved.

Methods: 60 Wistar rats were used: 45 rats in experimental group, and 15 rats in sham operated group. The expression levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), percentage apoptosis, and protein expression levels of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR-γ) and nuclear factor-κ B (NF - κ b) were determined.

Results: The levels TNF-α and IL-6 were significantly lower in the curcumin-treated rats than in septic rats, and lower in high-dose curcumin group than in low-dose curcumin group (p < 0.05). The protein expression levels of PPAR-γ in liver tissue of curcumin-treated rats were significantly up-regulated, relative to that in septic rats, but the expression of NF-κ B protein was down-regulated, when compared to that in septic rats (p < 0.05). The protein expression level of PPAR-γ increased in liver tissue of high-dose curcumin-exposed rats when compared to the liver tissue of low-dose curcumin rats, while NF-κ B protein was down-regulated in rats given a higher dose of curcumin.

Conclusion: Curcumin reduces inflammatory reaction and suppresses apoptosis of liver cells by up-regulating PPAR-γ and down-regulating the expression of NF-κ β, thereby protecting rat hepatocytes from sepsis-induced injury.

Keywords: Curcumin, Inflammatory response, Sepsis, Hepatocyte injury