Immuno-modulatory and Therapeutic Effect of Curcumin in an Allergensensitized Murine Model of Chronic Asthma

Abstract

Background: Asthma is a chronic allergic disease of the lung and airways, characterized by persistent inflammation and airway hyper-responsiveness. More than 200 million people are affected with severe asthma worldwide. T cells, especially Th2 cells, secreting IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13, are pivotal in orchestrating the disease process. We herein investigated the inhibition mechanism of curcumin, a polyphenol present in turmeric, and its ability to alleviate allergic asthma in C57BL/6J mice.Methods: Mice were sensitized and challenged with Ovalbumin for 54 days. We investigated cellular infiltration in blood and BALF, assessed levels of serum IgE, assessed structural changes by histological analysis, and determined the levels of expression of relevant genes and proteins.Results: Our data revealed that curcumin has some anti-inflammatory effect and is successful in ameliorating the disease. We found that curcumin most likely acts by inhibiting the activation of NFκB and its subsequent downstream processes. Our data provided evidence in support of therapeutic application of curcumin in allergic inflammation and airway remodeling.