Curcumin regulates glial cell polarization through TLR4/NF-κB pathway after intracerebral hemorrhage

Abstract

This study assessed the effect of curcumin on intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) to provide a theoretical basis for treatment of ICH. C57BL/6 male mice were used to construct cerebral hemorrhage injury model, and sham operation and treatment groups were set up. Different groups of mice were treated with curcumin, and inflammation cytokines were tested with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Tunel staining and Nissl staining measured cell apoptosis in brain tissue. The effect of curcumin on polarization of glial cells was studied by immunofluorescence. Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting analyzed the potential mechanism for curcumin’s effect on ICH. Our results showed that the curcumin effectively inhibited inflammatory response and reduced microglia cell apoptosis in intracerebral hemorrhage model. Additionally, curcumin transformed the M1 into M2 cells in the brain of cerebral hemorrhage model mice, thus improving the neurological damage. Additionally, curcumin exerts anti-inflammatory role in cerebral hemorrhage which was related to toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells (TLR4/NF-κB) pathway. We found that curcumin reduced inflammatory response and brain tissue cell death in the ICH mouse model, mainly through TLR4/NF-κB pathway, to change glial cell polarization. The findings from this study will be helpful in promoting development and application of curcumin and providing a theoretical basis for the treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage.