Curcumin protects PC12 cells from a high glucose-induced inflammatory response by regulating the miR-218-5p/TLR4 axis

  • Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Oct 7;101(40):e30967. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000030967.
Yuan Cui  1 ,  Hong-Tao Song  2 ,  Pei Zhang  3 ,  Xiao Yin  4 ,  Ying Wang  5 ,  Xuan Wei  6 ,  Xin-Ju Jia  7
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China.
  • 2. Department of Vascular surgery, Shijiazhuang Second Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China.
  • 3. Department of Diabetes Screening Centre, Shijiazhuang Second Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China.
  • 4. Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang Yuxi Community Health Service Center, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China.
  • 5. Department of Hemodialysis, Shijiazhuang Second Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China.
  • 6. Department of Endocrinology, Shijiazhuang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China.
  • 7. Department of Endocrinology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China.
PMID: 36221434 DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000030967
Abstract

Background: Curcumin exerts a protective effect on diabetic encephalopathy (DN), It is known for its potent neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and Anticancer properties. However, the underlying mechanisms of curcumin's neuroprotective effects resulting from high glucose (HG)-induced injuries remain unknown. The purpose of this study is to identify the protective mechanism of Curcumin in the DN.

Methods: In this study, pheochromocytoma cells (PC12 cells) were pretreated with different concentrations of Curcumin and then co-treated with Curcumin and glucose for 48 hours, and the cell viability was evaluated by CCK-8, the expression of the inflammatory mediators were detected by ELISA, the miR-218-5p and toll-like receptors (TLR4) level were examined by both quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting, the potential target genes of miR-218-5p were identified using luciferase reporter assay.

Results: The viability of PC12 cells treated with HG was significantly reduced in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Cotreatment of curcumin with HG significantly increased cell viability. Curcumin inhibited the expression of the inflammatory mediators, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), and induced the expression of the anti-inflammatory mediator interleukin-10 (IL-10). Curcumin upregulated the levels of miR-218-5p and downregulated the expression of TLR4 in HG-treated PC12 cells. The curcumin-induced anti-inflammatory effect was abrogated by a miR-218-5p inhibitor and overexpression of TLR4. The results suggest that curcumin ameliorates the inflammatory response by upregulating miR-218-5p levels in PC12 cells.

Conclusions: Our results indicate a protective role for curcumin in PC12 cells and suggest that it should be considered for the prophylactic treatment of DN in the future.

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