The Effect of Curcumin on Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells Exposed to Fine Particulate Matter: A Predictive Analysis

Abstract

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been associated in humans with inflammation, oxidative stress and cancer. Studies had shown that curcumin could potentially inhibit these effects; however, there had been no in vivo or in vitro reports about the effects of curcumin on organisms exposed to PM2.5. This predictive study explored the possible biological functions and pathways involved in the mechanism of curcumin inhibition of the hazardous effects of PM2.5. For predictive analysis, microarray data were used to investigate the effect of PM2.5 on human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC), and human target proteins of curcumin were retrieved from PubChem. Two protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were established based upon differential genes and target proteins, respectively, and the common network of these two networks was found. Functional and pathway analysis of the common network was performed using the Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA) software. The results suggested that the predictive effects of curcumin on HBEC exposed to PM2.5 were involved in bio-functions, including inflammatory response of airway, cancerogenesis, and apoptosis, and in pathways such as cancer, glucocorticoid receptor signaling, and NF-kappaB signaling. This study predicted for the first time that curcumin could be a potential therapeutic agent for protecting the human airway from the hazardous effects of PM2.5.

Curcumin Exerted Neuroprotection against Ozone-Induced Oxidative Damage and Decreased NF-κB Activation in Rat Hippocampus and Serum Levels of Inflammatory Cytokines

“…A considerable number of studies have evaluated and demonstrated the excellent antioxidant activity of CUR against damage induced by different oxidant substances [27–30] and as anti-inflammatory agent against the damage caused by the particulate matter [31, 32]. Oxidative stress is a common process that pollutants and other physical and chemical agents are able to induce [2].…”

PM2.5 stimulated the release of cytokines from BEAS-2B cells through activation of IKK/NF-κB pathway

“…In vitro studies showed that the PM 2.5 samples increased cytokine secretions in lung epithelial cells, including interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα). 15 –17 Whereas no increased IL-8 levels were detected in human bronchial epithelial cell line (BEAS-2B) and human lung adenocarcinoma cell line (A549) treated with PM 2.5 from Milan (Italy) 18 and the decreased IL-6 and IL-8 levels were detected in BEAS-2B cells treated with PM 2.5 samples from a city in Brazil. 19 PM 2.5 -induced variations of cytokines in humans may be modulated by multiple molecular mechanisms, 20 –22 owing to differences in the origin, morphology, and composition of PM 2.5 from different regions or countries.…”

Structure Identification and Anti-Cancer Pharmacological Prediction of Triterpenes from Ganoderma lucidum

“…PIN is constructed by protein-protein interactions (PPIs), which refer to the major link of the biological process of therapeutic targets [23]. Meanwhile, module-based network analysis of PIN is able to explore the biological effect of TCM therapeutic targets and initially identify the pharmacological activities of a single or class of TCM compound [24,25].…”