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Effect of curcumin (Curcuma longa extract) on LPS-induced acute lung injury is mediated by the activation of AMPK

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Abstract

Purpose

Curcumin, a biphenolic compound extracted from turmeric (Curcuma longa), possesses potent anti-inflammatory activity. The present study investigated whether curcumin could increase 5′ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity in macrophages and modulate the severity of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury.

Methods

Macrophages were treated with curcumin and then exposed (or not) to LPS. Acute lung injury was induced by intratracheal administration of LPS in BALB/c mice.

Results

Curcumin increased phosphorylation of AMPK and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), a downstream target of AMPK, in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Curcumin did not increase phosphorylation of liver kinase B1, a primary kinase upstream of AMPK. STO-609, an inhibitor of calcium2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase, diminished curcumin-induced AMPK phosphorylation, but transforming growth factor-beta-activated kinase 1 inhibitor did not. Curcumin also diminished the LPS-induced increase in phosphorylation of inhibitory κB-alpha and the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-2, and interleukin (IL)-6 by macrophages. Systemic administration of curcumin significantly decreased the production of TNF-α, MIP-2, and IL-6 as well as neutrophil accumulation in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and also decreased pulmonary myeloperoxidase levels and the wet/dry weight ratio in mice subjected to LPS treatment.

Conclusion

These results suggest that the protective effect of curcumin on LPS-induced acute lung injury is associated with AMPK activation.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant (CRI13021-1) from the Chonnam National University Hospital Research Institute of Clinical Medicine.

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Author notes

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Departments of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital, 5 Hak dong, Gwangju, 501-746, Korea

      Joungmin Kim, Seong-Wook Jeong, Hui Quan, Cheol-Won Jeong, Jeong-Il Choi & Hong-Beom Bae

    2. Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea

      Hui Quan & Hong-Beom Bae

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    1. Joungmin Kim
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    Correspondence to Hong-Beom Bae.

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    J. Kim and S.-W. Jeong contributed equally to this study.

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    Kim, J., Jeong, SW., Quan, H. et al. Effect of curcumin (Curcuma longa extract) on LPS-induced acute lung injury is mediated by the activation of AMPK. J Anesth 30, 100–108 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00540-015-2073-1

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00540-015-2073-1

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