Influence of curcumin on proliferation of human renal epithelia induced by TGF-β_1

Objective To observe the influence of curcumin on proliferation of human renal epithelia(HK-2)induced by transforming growth factors-β1(TGF-β1),and discuss the mechanism of preventing and treating renal fibrosis by curcumin.Methods HK-2 cells were cultured with culture medium containing 10% of fetal bovine serum FBS,DMEM-F12(1∶1).The samples were divided into 5 groups,including the blank control group,TGF-β1 group(10 μg/L of TGF-β1),intervention group 1(10 μg/L of TGF-β1+1 μmoL/L of curcumin),intervention group 2(10 μg/L of TGF-β1+5 μmoL/L of curcumin),and intervention group 3(10 μg/L of TGF-β1+10 μmoL/L of curcumin).The morphological changes of cells in every group were observed with inverted microscope and the influence of curcumin on cell proliferation by using MTT assay.Results The proliferation of HK-2 cells was induced significantly by 10 μg/L of TGF-β1 with a significant difference compared with the blank control group(P0.05).This effect increased with treatment time passing,but when TGF-β1 and curcumin were combined and effected on the cells this effect was inhibited obviously(P0.05).Conclusion Curcumin can maintain the morphological stability of HK-2 cells,prevent cells from fibrosis,and inhibit cell proliferation induced by TGF-β1 to some extent.It may be the mechanism of preventing and treating renal fibrosis by curcumin.