| Institution: | 1. Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Pharmacology Section, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Center for Research in Ocular Pharmacology - CERFO–, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy;2. Facultad de Medicina y Odontologìa Universidad Católica de Valencia ”San Vicente Mártir”, Valencia, Spain;3. Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, USA;4. Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Human Anatomy and Histology Section, University of Catania, Catania, Italy |
| Abstract: | To study the effects of curcumin on human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells exposed to high glucose (HG) insult, we performed in vitro studies on RPE cells cultured both in normal and HG conditions to assess the effects of curcumin on the cell viability, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) expression, HO-1 activity, and ERK1/2 expression. RPE cells exposed to HG insult were treated with curcumin. The cell viability, apoptosis, HO-1 activity, ERK, and Nrf2 expression were evaluated. The data indicated that treatment with curcumin caused a significant decrease in terms of apoptosis. Further, curcumin was able to induce HO-1 expression via Nrf2 activation and counteracts the damage elicited by HG. The present study demonstrated that curcumin provides protection against HG-induced damage in RPE cells through the activation of Nrf2/HO-1 signaling that involves the ERK pathway, suggesting that curcumin may have therapeutic value in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy. |
