Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Aug 9;12(1):496.
doi: 10.1186/s13104-019-4540-5.

Effect of curcumin supplementation on serum expression of select cytokines and chemokines in a female rat model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Matthew B Pickich  1 , Mark W Hargrove  1 , C Niles Phillips  1 , James C Healy  1 , Angelique N Moore  1 , Michael D Roberts  2   3 , Jeffrey S Martin  4   5   6
Affiliations

Effect of curcumin supplementation on serum expression of select cytokines and chemokines in a female rat model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Matthew B Pickich et al. BMC Res Notes. .

Abstract

Objective: We recently reported that curcumin supplementation in a metabolically (i.e., Western diet [WD]) and chemically (i.e., CCl4) induced female rat model of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) was associated with lower liver pathology scores and molecular markers of inflammation. This occurred when curcumin was given during induction of disease (preventative arm; 8-week WD with or without curcumin [8WD + C vs. 8WD]) as well as when given after disease development (treatment arm; 12-week WD with or without curcumin during weeks 9-12 [12WD + C vs. 12WD]). Herein, we sought to extend our findings from that study by determining the effects of curcumin supplementation on cytokine/chemokine expression in serum collected from these same rats.

Results: 24 cytokines/chemokines were assayed. IL-2 (+ 80%) and IL-13 (+ 83%) were greater with curcumin supplementation in the prevention arm. IL-2 (+ 192%), IL-13 (+ 87%), IL-17A (+ 81%) and fractalkine (+ 121%) were higher while RANTES was lower (- 22%) with curcumin supplementation in the treatment arm (p < 0.05 for all). RANTES concentrations also correlated significantly with hepatic pathology scores of inflammation (r = 0.417, p = 0.008). Select serum cytokines/chemokines were affected with curcumin supplementation in this female rat model of NASH. Moreover, curcumin's effect(s) on RANTES and its association with liver disease pathogenesis and progression may warrant further investigation.

Keywords: Chemokines; Curcumin; Cytokines; Inflammation; NAFLD; NASH; Supplements; Turmeric.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Serum. a Interleukin (IL)-2, b IL-13, c IL-17A, d fractalkine, and e RANTES concentrations at sacrifice in the prevention (8WD, 8-week Western diet vs. 8WD + C, 8-week WD + curcumin) and treatment (12WD, 12-week Western diet vs. 12WD + C, 12-week WD + curcumin during weeks 9–12) arms of the study. Values are mean concentration ± SD. *Significantly different between groups (p < 0.05)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Pearson’s correlations between serum concentrations of RANTES and pathology scores for a inflammation and b non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) activity scores. Each data point represents an individual rat and data for both arms of the study are shown
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Buzzetti E, Pinzani M, Tsochatzis EA. The multiple-hit pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) Metabolism. 2016;65(8):1038–1048. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2015.12.012. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dowman JK, Tomlinson J, Newsome P. Pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. QJM Int J Med. 2009;103(2):71–83. doi: 10.1093/qjmed/hcp158. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jurenka JS. Anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin, a major constituent of Curcuma longa: a review of preclinical and clinical research. Altern Med Rev. 2009;14(2):141–153. - PubMed
    1. Pari L, Tewas D, Eckel J. Role of curcumin in health and disease. Arch Physiol Biochem. 2008;114(2):127–149. doi: 10.1080/13813450802033958. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Amel Zabihi N, Pirro M, Johnston PT, Sahebkar A. Is there a role for curcumin supplementation in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease? The data suggest yes. Curr Pharm Des. 2017;23(7):969–982. doi: 10.2174/1381612822666161010115235. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources