Protective effects of curcumin on ischemia/reperfusion injury

Bibliometric analysis of research progress on tetramethylpyrazine and its effects on ischemia-reperfusion injury

In recent decades, natural products have attracted worldwide attention and become one of the most important resources for pharmacological industries and medical sciences to identify novel drug candidates for disease treatment. Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) is an alkaloid extracted from Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort., which has shown great therapeutic potential in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, liver and renal injury, as well as cancer. In this review, we analyzed 1270 papers published on the Web of Science Core Collection from 2002 to 2022 and found that TMP exerted significant protective effects on ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury that is the cause of pathological damages in a variety of conditions, such as ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, acute kidney injury, and liver transplantation. TMP is limited in clinical applications to some extent due to its rapid metabolism, a short biological half-life and poor bioavailability. Obviously, the structural modification, administration methods and dosage forms of TMP need to be further investigated in order to improve its bioavailability. This review summarizes the clinical applications of TMP, elucidates its potential mechanisms in protecting I/R injury, provides strategies to improve bioavailability, which presents a comprehensive understanding of the important compound. Hopefully, the information and knowledge from this review can help researchers and physicians to better improve the applications of TMP in the clinic.

Effect of peripheral blood mononuclear cells on ischemia-reperfusion injury of sciatic nerve of adult male albino rat: histological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural study

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury of sciatic nerve is a serious condition that results in nerve fiber degeneration, and reperfusion causes oxidative injury. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) have neuroregenerative power. This study was carried out to evaluate the potential ameliorative effect of PBMNCs on changes induced by I/R injury of the sciatic nerve. Fifty adult male albino rats were divided into donor and experimental groups that were subdivided into four groups: group I (control group), group II received 50 µL PBNMCs once intravenously via the tail vein, group III rubber tourniquet was placed around their Rt hind limb root for 2 hours to cause ischemia, group IV was subjected to limb ischemia as group III, then they were injected with 50 ul PBMNCs as group II before reperfusion. I/R injury showed disorganization of nerve fascicles with wide spaces in between nerve fibers. The mean area of collagen fibers, iNOS immunoexpression, and number of GFAP-positive Schwann cells of myelinated fibers showed a highly significant increase, while a highly significant reduction in the G-ratio and neurofilament immunoexpression was observed. Myelin splitting, invagination, evagination, and myelin figures were detected. PBMNC-treated group showed a marked improvement that was confirmed by histological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural findings.

The role of hydrogen sulfide regulation of pyroptosis in different pathological processes

Pyroptosis is one kind of programmed cell death in which the cell membrane ruptures and subsequently releases cell contents and pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β and IL-18. Pyroptosis is caused by many types of pathological stimuli, such as hyperglycemia (HG), oxidative stress, and inflammation, and is mediated by gasdermin (GSDM) protein family. Increasing evidence indicates that pyroptosis plays an important role in multiple diseases, such as cancer, kidney diseases, inflammatory diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, the regulation of pyroptosis is crucial for the occurrence, development, and treatment of many diseases. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a biologically active gasotransmitter following carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxide (NO) in mammalian tissues. So far, three enzymes, including 3-mercaptopyruvate sulphurtransferase (3-MST), cystathionine γ- Lyase (CSE), and Cystine β-synthesis enzyme (CBS), have been found to catalyze the production of endogenous H2S in mammals. H2S has been reported to have multiple biological functions including anti-inflammation, anti-oxidative stress, anti-apoptosis and so on. Hence, H2S is involved in various physiological and pathological processes. In recent years, many studies have demonstrated that H2S plays a critical role by regulating pyroptosis in various pathological processes, such as ischemia-reperfusion injury, alcoholic liver disease, and diabetes cardiomyopathy. However, the relevant mechanism has not been completely understood. Therefore, elucidating the mechanism by which H2S regulates pyroptosis in diseases will help understand the pathogenesis of multiple diseases and provide important new avenues for the treatment of many diseases. Here, we reviewed the progress of H2S regulation of pyroptosis in different pathological processes, and analyzed the molecular mechanism in detail to provide a theoretical reference for future related research.

Regulatory effects of curcumin on nitric oxide signaling in the cardiovascular system

The continuously rising prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) globally substantially impacts the economic growth of developing countries. Indeed, one of the leading causes of death worldwide is unfavorable cardiovascular events. Reduced nitric oxide (NO) generation is the pathogenic foundation of endothelial dysfunction, which is regarded as the first stage in the development of a number of CVDs. Nitric oxide exerts an array of biological effects, including vasodilation, the suppression of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and the functional control of cardiac cells. Numerous treatment strategies aim to increase NO synthesis or upregulate downstream NO signaling pathways. The major component of Curcuma longa, curcumin, has long been utilized in traditional medicine to treat various illnesses, especially CVDs. Curcumin improves CV function as well as having important pleiotropic effects, such as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, through its ability to increase the bioavailability of NO and to positively impact NO-related signaling pathways. In this review, we discuss the scientific literature relating to curcumin's positive effects on NO signaling and vascular endothelial function.

LoxBlock-1 or Curcumin attenuates liver, pancreas and cardiac ferroptosis, oxidative stress and injury in Ischemia/reperfusion-damaged rats by facilitating ACSL/GPx4 signaling

In this study, the effects of the pretreatment of Curcumin and LoxBlock-1 on liver, pancreas, and cardiac dysfunction following Ischemia-Reperfusion-induced (IR) Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) were investigated through the mechanisms of oxidative stress and ferroptosis. Total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS) and oxidative stress index (OSI) parameters in the tissue were analyzed to investigate the oxidative stress occurring in the liver, pancreas, and heart, and Acyl-Coa synthetase long-chain family member (ACSL4). Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4) enzyme levels were also analyzed by ELISA to investigate the effect on ferroptosis. In addition, hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed for histopathological examination of the tissues. As a result of biochemical analyzes, it was observed that oxidative stress parameters increased significantly in the IR group. In addition, while the ACSL4 enzyme level increased in the IR group in all tissues, the GPx4 enzyme level decreased. In the histopathological examination, it was observed that IR caused serious damage to the heart, liver, and pancreas tissues. The present study shows that Curcumin and LoxBlock-1 have a protective effect on the liver, pancreas, and cardiac ferroptosis following the effect on AKI. In addition, Curcumin was found to be more effective than LoxBlock-1 in I/R injury with its antioxidant property.

Role of curcumin in ischemia and reperfusion injury

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is an inevitable pathological process after organic transplantations. Although traditional treatments restore the blood supply of ischemic organs, the damage caused by IRI is always ignored. Therefore, the ideal and effective therapeutic strategy to mitigate IRI is warrented. Curcumin is a type of polyphenols, processing such properties as anti-oxidative stress, anti-inflammation and anti-apoptosis. However, although many researches have been confirmed that curcumin can exert great effects on the mitigation of IRI, there are still some controversies about its underlying mechanisms among these researches. Thus, this review is to summarize the protective role of curcumin against IRI as well as the controversies of current researches, so as to clarify its underlying mechanisms clearly and provide clinicians a novel idea of the therapy for IRI.

Curcumin-piperine co-supplementation and human health: A comprehensive review of preclinical and clinical studies

Curcumin is extracted from the rhizomes Curcuma longa L. It is known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities. Despite its safety and potential for use against various diseases, curcumin's utility is restricted due to its low oral bioavailability. Co-administration of curcumin along with piperine could potentially improve the bioavailability of curcumin. The present review aimed to provide an overview of the efficacy and safety of curcumin-piperine co-supplementation in human health. The findings of this comprehensive review show the beneficial effects of curcumin-piperine in improving glycemic indices, lipid profile and antioxidant status in diabetes, improving the inflammatory status caused by obesity and metabolic syndrome, reducing oxidative stress and depression in chronic stress and neurological disorders, also improving chronic respiratory diseases, asthma and COVID-19. Further high-quality clinical trial studies are needed to firmly establish the clinical efficacy of the curcumin-piperine supplement.