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Topical curcumin can inhibit deleterious effects of upper respiratory tract bacteria on human oropharyngeal cells in vitro: potential role for patients with cancer therapy induced mucositis?

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Abstract

Purpose

Curcumin exerts its anti-inflammatory activity via inhibition of nuclear factor κB. Oropharyngeal epithelia and residing bacteria closely interact in inflammation and infection. This in vitro model investigated the effects of curcumin on bacterial survival, adherence to, and invasion of upper respiratory tract epithelia, and studied its anti-inflammatory effect. We aimed to establish a model, which could offer insights into the host–pathogen interaction in cancer therapy induced mucositis.

Methods

Moraxella catarrhalis (Mcat) and the oropharyngeal epithelial cell line Detroit 562 were used. Time–kill curves assessed the inhibition of bacterial growth and adherence assays and gentamicin protection assays determined the effect of curcumin-preincubated cells on bacterial adherence and invasion. Curcumin-mediated inhibition of pro-inflammatory activation by Mcat was determined via interleukin-8 concentrations in the supernatants. The synergistic role of secretory IgA (sIgA) on adherence was investigated.

Results

Curcumin was bactericidal at concentrations >50 µM. Preincubation of Detroit cells for 60 min demonstrated that concentrations >100 µM inhibited bacterial adherence. Together with sIgA, curcumin inhibited adherence at concentrations ≥50 µM. Both 100 and 200 µM curcumin significantly inhibited Mcat cell invasion. Finally, curcumin inhibited Mcat-induced pro-inflammatory activation by strongly suppressing IL-8 release. At a concentration of 200 µM, 10 min of curcumin exposure inhibited IL-8 release significantly, and complete suppression required a pre-exposure time of ≥45 min.

Conclusion

Curcumin, in clinically relevant concentrations for topical use, displayed strong antibacterial effect against a facultative upper respiratory tract pathogen by inhibiting bacterial growth, adherence, invasion, and pro-inflammatory activation of upper respiratory tract epithelial cells in vitro.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded in part by grant number 3100A0-116053 (to C.A.) from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Strain 035E and the monoclonal antibodies 24B5 and 10F3 are a kind gift of Dr. Eric Hansen, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.

Conflict of interest

None declared.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Bern, Inselspital, 3010, Bern, Switzerland

    Sonja Lüer & Christoph Aebi

  2. Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Inselspital, 3010, Bern, Switzerland

    Rolf Troller, Marion Jetter, Violeta Spaniol & Christoph Aebi

Authors
  1. Sonja Lüer
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  2. Rolf Troller
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  3. Marion Jetter
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  4. Violeta Spaniol
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  5. Christoph Aebi
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Correspondence to Christoph Aebi.

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Lüer, S., Troller, R., Jetter, M. et al. Topical curcumin can inhibit deleterious effects of upper respiratory tract bacteria on human oropharyngeal cells in vitro: potential role for patients with cancer therapy induced mucositis?. Support Care Cancer 19, 799–806 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-010-0894-x

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