The Therapeutic Effects of Curcumin in Early Septic Acute Kidney Injury: An Experimental Study

Shuo Wang,1,2 Ping Zhao,1,2 Ying Zhang,2 Lianhua Zhu,2 Jianing Zhu,1,2 Yukun Luo,2 Qiuyang Li2 1Medical School of Chinese PLA, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Ultrasound, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yukun Luo; Qiuyang LiDepartment of Ultrasound, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Fuxing Road 28#, Beijing, 100853, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-10-5549-9056Fax +86-10-6693-9533Email lyk301@163.com; liqiuyang0925@163.comPurpose: Sepsis is the leading condition associated with acute kidney injury (AKI) in the hospital and intensive care unit (ICU), sepsis-induced AKI (S-AKI) is strongly associated with poor clinical outcomes. Curcumin possesses an ability to ameliorate renal injury from ischemia-reperfusion, but it is still unknown whether they have the ability to reduce S-AKI. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of curcumin on S-AKI and to assess its therapeutic potential on renal function, inflammatory response, and microcirculatory perfusion.Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats underwent cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) to induce S-AKI and immediately received vehicle (CLP group) or curcumin (CLP+Cur group) after surgery. At 12 and 24h after surgery, serum indexes, inflammatory factors, cardiac output (CO), renal blood flow and microcirculatory flow were measured.Results: Serum levels of creatinine (Scr), cystatin C (CysC), IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly lower in the CLP+Cur group than those in the CLP group (P < 0.05). Treatment with curcumin improved renal microcirculation at 24h by measurement of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) quantitative parameters [peak intensity (PI); half of descending time (DT/2); area under curve (AUC); P < 0.05]. In histopathological analysis, treatment with curcumin reduced damage caused by CLP.Conclusion: Curcumin can alleviate S-AKI in rats by improving renal microcirculatory perfusion and reducing inflammatory response. Curcumin may be a potential novel therapeutic agent for the prevention or reduction of S-AKI.Keywords: curcumin, acute kidney injury, sepsis, microcirculation, inflammation, contrast enhanced ultrasoun