Curcumin inhibits lysophosphatidic acid mediated mcp-1 expression via blocking rock signalling

Ying Zhou, Peter J. Little*, Suowen Xu, Danielle Kamato

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Curcumin is a natural compound that has been widely used as a food additive and medicine in Asian countries. Over several decades, diverse biological effects of curcumin have been elucidated, such as anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is a key inflammatory marker during the development of atherosclerosis, and curcumin blocks MCP-1 expression stimulated by various ligands. Hence, we studied the action of curcumin on lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) mediated MCP-1 expression and explored the specific underlying mechanisms. In human vascular smooth muscle cells, LPA induces Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) dependent transforming growth factor receptor (TGFBR1) transactivation, leading to glycosaminoglycan chain elongation. We found that LPA also signals via the TGFBR1 transactivation pathway to regulate MCP-1 expression. Curcumin blocks LPA mediated TGFBR1 transactivation and subsequent MCP-1 expression by blocking the ROCK signalling. In the vasculature, ROCK signalling regulates smooth muscle cell contraction, inflammatory cell recruitment, endothelial dysfunction and vascular remodelling. Therefore, curcumin as a ROCK signalling inhibitor has the potential to prevent atherogenesis via multiple ways.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2320
JournalMolecules
Volume26
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Atherosclerosis
  • Inflammation
  • Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1
  • Smad2
  • Transforming growth factor receptor
  • Vascular smooth muscle cells

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