Study on curcumin treatment in unilateral ureteral obstruction rats

[Objective] To investigate the effect of curcumin on renal interstitial fibrosis following unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) and to explore new prevention and treatment for renal interstitial fibrosis. [Methods] Unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) rat models were used. Male wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups with 8 rats each: sham-operated group (0.9% saline solution), model group (dimethyl sulphoxide, DMSO), and curcumin treatment group (curcumin 100 mg/kg·d). All rats were killed 4 weeks after surgery. The degree of tubulointerstitial fibrosis was scored by HE and Masson staining, and the sites and levels of protein expression of TGF-β1 and TIMP-1 were detected by immunohistochemistry staining. [Results] Compared with sham-operated group, the relative area of interstitial fibrosis was significantly enlarged in the model group (P 0.01). Compared with sham-operated group, the expression of TGF-β1 and TIMP-1 protein were significantly up-regulated in their kidney tissue (P 0.01). After intervention with curcumin, the upregulation of the above-mentioned parameters were all significantly inhibited (P 0.01). [Conclusions] The effect of curcumin on ameliorating renal interstitial fibrosis may be correlated with its inhibition on over-expression of TGF-β1 and TIMP-1 in kidney tissue.