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Curcumin attenuates surgery-induced cognitive dysfunction in aged mice

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Abstract

Post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is associated with elderly patients undergoing surgery. However, pharmacological treatments for POCD are limited. In this study, we found that curcumin, an active compound derived from Curcuma longa, ameliorated the cognitive dysfunction following abdominal surgery in aged mice. Further, curcumin prevented surgery-induced anti-oxidant enzyme activity. Curcumin also increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-positive area and expression of pAkt in the brain, suggesting that curcumin activated BDNF signaling in aged mice. Furthermore, curcumin neutralized cholinergic dysfunction involving choline acetyltransferase expression induced by surgery. These results strongly suggested that curcumin prevented cognitive impairments via multiple targets, possibly by increasing the activity of anti-oxidant enzymes, activation of BDNF signaling, and neutralization of cholinergic dysfunction, concurrently. Based on these novel findings, curcumin might be a potential agent in POCD prophylaxis and treatment.

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Abbreviations

BDNF:

brain-derived neurotrophic factor

CAT:

catalase

ChAT:

choline acetyltransferase

GPx:

glutathione peroxidase

IHC:

Immunohistochemical

MWM:

Morris water maze

NIH:

National Institutes of Health

NOR:

Novel object recognition

Nrf2:

Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2

OD:

optical density

POCD:

post-operative cognitive

SOD:

superoxide dismutase.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Ningbo Natural Science Foundation (2015A610219, 2013A610221), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1503223, 81673407), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LY15H310007), the Applied Research Project on Nonprofit Technology of Zhejiang Province (2016C37110), Medicine and Drugs Research of Zhejiang Province (2014KYB232), the Ningbo International Science and Technology Cooperation Project (2014D10019), Ningbo municipal innovation team of life science and health (2015C110026), the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, the State Education Ministry, and the K. C. Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anaesthesia Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China

    Xiang Wu, Yiguo Xu, Tao Gao & Wei Cui

  2. Ningbo Key Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China

    Xiang Wu, Huixin Chen, Xinmei Gu, Jialing Wang, Dilin Xu, Xin Yu, Chu Shuai, Liping Chen, Chuang Wang & Qinwen Wang

  3. Ningbo Medical centre Lihuili Eastern Hospital, Ningbo, 315211, China

    Xiang Wu

  4. School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Ningbo, 315211, China

    Chunhui Huang & Jinrong Zhang

  5. Pain Department of Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Hangzhou, 310006, China

    Shun Li

  6. Ningbo XiaoShi High School, Ningbo, 315020, China

    Mingrui Ye & Wei Su

  7. Ningbo Institute of Medical Sciences, Ningbo, 315211, China

    Haixiong Liu

  8. Department of Anaesthesiology, Ningbo No. 2 Hospital, Ningbo, 315010, China

    Junping Chen

  9. Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Zhejiang, China

    Wei Cui

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  1. Xiang Wu
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  2. Huixin Chen
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  3. Chunhui Huang
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  4. Xinmei Gu
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  6. Dilin Xu
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  7. Xin Yu
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  8. Chu Shuai
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  9. Liping Chen
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  10. Shun Li
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  11. Yiguo Xu
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  12. Tao Gao
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  13. Mingrui Ye
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  14. Wei Su
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  15. Haixiong Liu
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  16. Jinrong Zhang
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  17. Chuang Wang
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  18. Junping Chen
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  19. Qinwen Wang
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  20. Wei Cui
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Xiang Wu or Wei Cui.

Additional information

Xiang Wu and Huixin Chen contribute equally as co-first authors.

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Wu, X., Chen, H., Huang, C. et al. Curcumin attenuates surgery-induced cognitive dysfunction in aged mice. Metab Brain Dis 32, 789–798 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-017-9970-y

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