Curcumin Alleviates Bisphenol A-Induced Blood-Testis Barrier Disruption in Mice by Targeting Surfactant Protein B (SFTPB) to Suppress Oxidative Stress-Activated NLRP3 Inflammasome

  • J Agric Food Chem. 2025 Nov 19;73(46):29874-29885. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5c11194.
Hongwei Duan  1 ,  Shanshan Yang  2 ,  Longfei Xiao  3 ,  Shuai Yang  4 ,  Bin Jiang  5 ,  Zihao Fang  4 ,  Zhenxing Yan  4 ,  Jianlin Zeng  4 ,  Xiaofei Ma  4 ,  Weitao Dong  4 ,  Ya Liu  1
Affiliations
  • 1. College of Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China.
  • 2. School of Animal Science and Technology, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, Ningxia 750021, China.
  • 3. College of Veterinary Medicine, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206, China.
  • 4. College of Veterinary Medicine, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730070, China.
  • 5. Wenzhou Vocational College of Science and Technology, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325000, China.
PMID: 41212106 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5c11194
Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA), a globally prevalent industrial chemical, significantly harms the male reproductive health. Curcumin has anti-inflammatory, antioxidation, and antiapoptosis pharmacological properties, but the effect and mechanism of curcumin against BPA-induced testicular damage are still unknown. This study investigates the protective effect of curcumin against Bisphenol A (BPA)-induced blood-testis barrier (BTB) injury in mice. BPA exposure caused oxidative stress, activated the NOD-like Receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in Sertoli cells, and disrupted BTB integrity. Curcumin treatment alleviated these effects by reducing oxidative stress and inhibiting NLRP3 activation. We identified Surfactant Protein B (SFTPB) as a key target, finding that curcumin directly interacts with and down-regulates it. Functionally, SFTPB knockdown mimicked curcumin's protection, while its overexpression exacerbated BPA-induced damage. Our findings demonstrate that curcumin mitigates BPA-induced testicular injury by targeting SFTPB to suppress the oxidative stress-NLRP3 pathway, revealing a novel mechanism for the therapeutic action of curcumin.

Keywords
NLRP3 inflammasome; bisphenol A; blood-testis barrier; curcumin; oxidative stress; surfactant protein B.
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