Curcumin inhibits the increase of labile zinc and the expression of inflammatory cytokines after traumatic spinal cord injury in rats.
BACKGROUND
The present study aimed to investigate the effects of curcumin on the levels of spinal cord labile zinc (Zn) and inflammatory cytokines in rats after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI).


METHODS
Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to laminectomy at T8-T9 and compression with a vascular clip. There were three groups: (a) sham group; (b) SCI group; and (c) SCI + curcumin group. We measured spinal labile Zn by N-(6-methoxy-8-quinolinyl)-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide (TSQ) fluorescence staining, inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 1β, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor α by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, hindlimb locomotion function by Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan rating, spinal cord edema by wet dry weight method, and apoptosis by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling analysis.


RESULTS
The results showed that SCI caused a significant increase in labile Zn and inflammatory cytokines in the injured rat spinal cord. Treatment with curcumin after SCI markedly downregulated the levels of these agents and ameliorated SCI-induced hindlimb locomotion deficits, spinal cord edema, and apoptosis.


CONCLUSIONS
Curcumin treatment attenuates the increase of labile Zn and the expression of inflammatory cytokines in the injured spinal cord, and this may be a mechanism whereby curcumin improves the outcome after SCI.
Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Hongbin
H
Ni
Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Wei
W
Jin
Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Baoyu
B
Yuan
Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Tiansheng
T
Zhu
Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Jing
J
Wang
Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Jian
J
Jiang
Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: njneurosurgery@163.com.
Weibang
W
Liang
Department of Anesthesiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: njglyy110@163.com.
Zhengliang
Z
Ma
D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003474:Curcumin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000378:metabolism; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D008124:Locomotion / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism*
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D016207:Cytokines; D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D003474:Curcumin; D015032:Zinc
Curcumin; Inflammatory cytokines; Labile zinc; Spinal cord injury