title: Inhibition of interleukin-12 production in lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages by curcumin.
abstract: Pharmacological control of interleukin-12 production may be a key therapeutic strategy for modulating immunological diseases dominated by type-1 cytokine responses. In this study we investigated the effects of curcumin (1,7-bis[4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl]-1, 6-heptadiene-3,5-dione) on the production of interleukin-12 from mouse macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. Curcumin potently inhibited the production of interleukin-12 in a dose-dependent manner. The effect of curcumin on interleukin-12 p40 promoter activation was analyzed by transfecting RAW264.7 monocytic cells with p40 promoter/reporter constructs. The repressive effect mapped to a region in the p40 promoter containing a binding site for nuclear factor kappaB (p40-kappaB). Furthermore, activation of macrophages by lipopolysaccharide resulted in markedly enhanced binding activity to the kappaB site, which significantly decreased upon addition of curcumin. These results suggest that curcumin-induced inhibition of interleukin-12 production in macrophages may explain some of the biological effects of curcumin including its anti-inflammatory activity.
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy and Research Institute of Drug Development, Chonnam National University, Kwangju, South Korea.
authors.forename: B Y
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Im
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002460:Cell Line; D003474:Curcumin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008262:Macrophage Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008264:Macrophages / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000187:drug effects; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D016328:NF-kappa B; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D018664:Interleukin-12; D008156:Luciferases; D003474:Curcumin