Curcumin Protects Human Trophoblast HTR8/SVneo Cells from H2O2-Induced Oxidative Stress by Activating Nrf2 Signaling Pathway

Abstract

Pregnancy complications are associated with oxidative stress induced by accumulation of trophoblastic ROS in the placenta. We employed the human trophoblast HTR8/SVneo cell line to determine the effect of curcumin pre-treatment on H2O2-induced oxidative damage in HTR8/Sveo cells. Cells were pretreated with 2.5 or 5 μM curcumin for 24 h, and then incubated with 400 μM H2O2 for another 24 h. The results showed that H2O2 decreased the cell viability and induced excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in HTR8/Sveo cells. Curcumin pre-treatment effectively protected HTR8/SVneo cells against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis via increasing Bcl-2/Bax ratio and decreasing the protein expression level of cleaved-caspase 3. Moreover, curcumin pre-treatment alleviated the excessive oxidative stress by enhancing the activity of antioxidative enzymes. The antioxidant effect of curcumin was achieved by activating Nrf2 and its downstream antioxidant proteins. In addition, knockdown of Nrf2 by Nrf2-siRNA transfection abolished the protective effects of curcumin on HTR8/SVneo cells against oxidative damage. Taken together, our results show that curcumin could protect HTR8/SVneo cells from H2O2-induced oxidative stress by activating Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Advanced Research on the Antioxidant Activity and Mechanism of Polyphenols from Hippophae Species—A Review

“…Through literature study on the antioxidant activity of Hippophae, it was found that the DPPH assay is used in a large proportion of experiments verifying the antioxidant activities of Hippophae. However, some studies have shown that the kinetic analysis of DPPH as an antioxidant activity test has been questioned; especially, the significance of antioxidants detected by DPPH in the human body needs to be further confirmed [63]. In addition, the establishment of animal models has greatly contributed to the development of medicines.…”

“…Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a key transcription factor of the cellular antioxidative stress system [63]. Moreover, Nrf2 nuclear translocation combined with antioxidative response element antioxidant responsive element (ARE) on the nucleic acid sequence is a key link in the activation of Nrf2-ARE signaling pathways [64].…”

“…Moreover, animal studies on this activity and its mechanisms are not in-depth. A commonly used method to evaluate free radical-scavenging activity is the DPPH assay; however, this assay does not provide meaningful information on the actual reactivity of an antioxidant [63]. Some studies have pointed out that free radical-scavenging activity is ineffective in vivo; thus, further studies are necessary [83].…”

Curcumin: Could This Compound Be Useful in Pregnancy and Pregnancy-Related Complications?

“…Results showed that pretreatment with curcumin (5 µM for 24 h) increased cell viability, upregulated the activities of the antioxidant enzymes CAT and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), reduced the H 2 O 2 -induced ROS accumulation and the apoptotic rate. At molecular levels, these data were associated with an increased nuclear translocation of the antioxidant transcription factor Nrf2, and reduced expression of cleaved-caspase 3 [ 52 ].…”

The effects of chard on brain damage in valproic acid‐induced toxicity

“…The upsurge in ROS induced by drugs is lined to activation of several pathological cell processes such as unprogramed cell death, inflammation, and chain reactions (Qi, Jiang, Zhang, Zhang, & Wang, 2020). The brain chiefly composed of fats, having high energy demand, and weak antioxidant capacity is easily prone to oxidative damage (Lakroun et al, 2015).…”