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

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

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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