Curcumin Inhibits in Vitro MCP-1 Release From Mouse Pancreatic Islets

ObjectivesMonocyte chemoattractant proteins (MCP-1) belongs to the CC family of chemokines secreted from islets of the pancreas, producing recruitment of inflammatory cells leading to an acute immune response with graft rejection in clinical transplantation. Expression and release of many inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including MCP-1 is regulated by the nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway. Curcumin is an NF-κB inhibitor with a variety of biological activities anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antioxidant, and antichemotactic effects. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of curcumin on in vitro MCP-1 release from pancreatic islets.MethodsMouse pancreatic islets in 18-hour cultures were treated with 0 or 10 or 20 μmol/L curcumin and with LPS for an additional 24 hours. MCP-1 levels in culture supernates of islets with versus without curcumin treatment were measured by an ELISA assay.ResultsWe observed that curcumin at the concentration of 20 μmol/L significantly decreased MCP-1 release from mouse islets compared to the control group (P = .005). In addition at both of 10 μmol/L and 20 μmol/L curcumin concentrations there was a decreased level of MCP-1 released from LPS-treated versus control islets (P = .01).