Effects of curcumin on inhibiting the proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells and relieving pulmonary arterial hypertension

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the protective effect of curcumin on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). A total of 30 male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into the blank control group, the monocrotaline (MCT) group, and the MCT + curcumin group. Thirty days after PAH modelling, the pulmonary artery pressures of rats were measured, and the ratio of the right ventricle to the weight of rats was calculated. The rats were sacrificed and lung tissues were collected for the pathological evaluation with haematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining in order to observe the morphological changes and differences of pulmonary arteries. After treatment with different concentrations (0, 5, 10, and 20 μmol/L) of curcumin for 24 h, the inhibition of cell proliferation was detected, and the cell cycle variations of pulmonary smooth muscle were observed. Our results showed that curcumin could effectively reduce the pulmonary artery pressure and the ratio of right ventricle/weight in rats, as well as alleviating the thickening of vessel walls of pulmonary arteries and the narrowing of vessels cavities. Consequently, the proliferation of cells was significantly inhibited. In conclusion, curcumin may protect the pulmonary arteries of MCT-induced PHA in rats and inhibit the proliferation of rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle.