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Effects of curcumin on neurological diseases: focus on astrocytes

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Abstract

Astrocytes are the most abundant glial cells in the central nervous system, and are important players in both brain injury and neurodegenerative disease. Curcumin (1,7-bis[4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl]-1,6-heptadiene-3,5-dione), the major active component of turmeric, belongs to the curcuminoid family that was originally isolated from the plant Curcuma longa. Several studies suggest that curcumin may have a beneficial impact on the brain pathology and aging. These effects are due to curcumin’s antioxidant, free-radical scavenging, and anti-inflammatory activity. In light of this, our current review aims to discuss the role of astrocytes as essential players in neurodegenerative diseases and suggest that curcumin is capable of direct inhibition of astrocyte activity with a particular focus on its effects in Alexander disease, Alzheimer's disease, ischemia stroke, spinal cord injury, Multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease.

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Abbreviations

TNF:

Tumor necrosis factor

ROS:

Reactive-oxygen species

NO:

Nitric oxide

MAPK:

Mitogen-activated protein kinases

Iba-1:

Ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1

MCP-1:

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1

JAKs:

Janus kinases

STATs:

Signal transducer and activator of transcription proteins

MMP-9:

Matrix metallopeptidase 9

IL-6:

Interleukin 6

IL-1β:

Interleukin 1 beta

MIP-1 α:

Macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha

MIP-2:

Macrophage inflammatory protein 2

NF-ҡB:

The inducible transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B

RANTES:

Regulated upon activation, normal T cell

iNOS:

Inducible nitric oxide synthase

BDNF:

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor

CB1:

Cannabinoid receptor type 1

GFAP:

Glial fibrillary acidic protein

COX-2:

Cyclooxygenase-2

MEK1:

Mitogen-activated protein kinase

ERK1/2:

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2

CISD2:

The causative gene in Wolfram syndrome 2

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran

    Samira Eghbaliferiz

  2. Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Faegheh Farhadi

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    George E. Barreto

  4. Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    George E. Barreto

  5. Sabinsa Corporation, East Windsor, NJ, USA

    Muhammed Majeed

  6. Halal Research Center of IRI, FDA, Tehran, Iran

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

  7. Neurogenic Inflammation Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

  8. Biotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

  9. School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

Authors
  1. Samira Eghbaliferiz
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  2. Faegheh Farhadi
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  3. George E. Barreto
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  4. Muhammed Majeed
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  5. Amirhossein Sahebkar
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Contributions

Conceived the idea: SE, FF, MM, AS. Wrote the manuscript: SE, FF, GEB, MM, AS. Reviewed critically for content: GEB, AS. All authors approved the final manuscript and submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amirhossein Sahebkar.

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Muhammed Majeed is the founder of Sabinsa Corporation and Sami Labs Ltd. Other authors have no direct competing interests to declare.

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Eghbaliferiz, S., Farhadi, F., Barreto, G.E. et al. Effects of curcumin on neurological diseases: focus on astrocytes. Pharmacol. Rep 72, 769–782 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43440-020-00112-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43440-020-00112-3

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