Curcumin attenuates staphylococcus aureus-induced acute lung injury.
BACKGROUND
Curcumin has remarkable anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, its effects on bacterium-induced acute lung injury (ALI) are not fully understood.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the protective effects of curcumin on a mouse model of S. aureus-induced ALI.


METHODS
Mice were pretreated with intraperitoneal injection of curcumin or vehicle 2 h before Staphylococcus aureus instillation. The survival rate and bacterial burden after infection were recorded. Mice were sacrificed for the analyses of severity of pneumonia, integrity of lung barrier, disorder of coagulation cascades and extent of inflammation 12 h postinfection. The production of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in the lung and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was detected.


RESULTS
Pretreatment with curcumin markedly attenuated S. aureus-induced pneumonia, barrier disruption, lung edema and vascular leakage. Activation of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and infiltration of neutrophils were reduced by curcumin, together with lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines.


CONCLUSIONS
Curcumin can alleviate S. aureus-induced ALI through multiple pathways.
Department of Infectious Diseases, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Department of Respiratory Medicine, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Feng
F
Xu
Ran
R
Diao
Jin
J
Liu
Yanhua
Y
Kang
Xuanding
X
Wang
Liyun
L
Shi
D055371:Acute Lung Injury / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003474:Curcumin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011023:Pneumonia, Staphylococcal / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D003474:Curcumin
Staphylococcus aureus; acute lung injury; curcumin