Treatment of low doses curcumin could modulate Th17/Treg balance specifically on CD4+ T cell cultures of systemic lupus erythematosus patients

Abstract

Introduction: the balance between t helper 17 (th17) and regulatory t cells (treg) is a new paradigm in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (slE). Currently, there are no drugs that able to modulate th17/treg balance specifically in slE. Curcumin is a bioactive agent that has a specific action against hyperproliferative cells. However, its role in modulating th17/treg balance in slE is still unknown. this research aimed to investigate the role of curcumin in modulating th17/treg balance on Cd4+ t cell cultures of slE patients. Material and methods: Cd4+ t cells from slE 6 untreated patients and 6 healthy subjects were collected, stimulated with th17 differentiating factors, and curcumin 0.1 and 1 μ g/ml was added on cultures. after 72 hours incubation, cells were harvested and measured for th17 and treg percentages using flow cytometry and interleukin-17a (il-17a) and transforming growth factor-â1 (tgF-â1) levels using Elisa. Results: administration of low doses of curcumin (0.1 and 1 μ g/ml) could decrease th17 percentages (p = 0.000 and p = 0.000 compared to control), reduce il-17a productions (p = 0.000 and p = 0.000 compared to control), increase treg percentages (p = 0.001 and p = 0.000 compared to control), and increase tgF-â1 productions (p = 0.001 and p = 0.000 compared to control) on Cd4+ t cells of slE patients. interestingly, these effects were not reproduced on Cd4+ t cells cultures of healthy subjects. Conclusions: these data suggest that curcumin can modulate th17/treg balance specifically on Cd4+ t cells of slE patients without affecting healthy subjects.