NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a mouse model, treatment with curcumin, a major component of turmeric, allows the misfolded protein that is an underlying cause of most cases of cystic fibrosis to function normally within cells, according to a report published in the April 23rd issue of Science.
Dr. Michael J. Caplan, from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues gave curcumin, a nontoxic Ca-adenosine triphosphate pump inhibitor, to mice homozygous for the genetic mutation that occurs in about 90% of cystic fibrosis patients.
This mutation, known as delta-F508, involves the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) and leads to a misfolded CFTR protein that fails to leave the endoplasmic reticulum and is targeted for destruction.
Oral administration of curcumin at doses well tolerated in humans corrected the characteristic nasal potential difference seen in test animals. This effect was only observed in animals with a mutated CFTR gene, not in mice completely lacking the gene.
Dr. Caplan’s team also found that treating baby hamster kidney cells with curcumin allowed delta-F508 CFTR proteins to reach the plasma membrane.
The results suggest that “curcumin and curcumin derivatives represent promising new candidate compounds that may prove useful in the search for small-molecule pharmacotherapies for cystic fibrosis and for other protein-folding diseases,” the researchers state.
Source: Science 2004;304:600-602. [ Google search on this article ]
MeSH Headings:Biochemical Phenomena: Biochemical Phenomena, Metabolism, and Nutrition: Ion Channels: Membrane Glycoproteins: Membrane Proteins: Protein Folding: Chloride Channels: Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator: Biological SciencesCopyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
