Recent Advances of Curcumin in the Prevention and Treatment of Renal Fibrosis

Figure 3

Curcumin plays a protective role at the priming and the activation stage of renal fibrosis. At the priming stage, curcumin reduces proinflammatory molecular activity and blocks inflammation associated signaling pathways. At the activation stage, curcumin inhibits the expression of renal fibrosis markers, rebuilds the redox balance, blocks MAPK/ERK pathway and TGF-β/Smads pathway, and increases PPAR-γ expression. NF-κB, nuclear factor-kappa B; MCP-1, monocyte chemotactic protein 1; ICAM-1, intercellular adhesion molecule 1; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor α; IL-1β, interleukin-1β; Cav-1, Caveolin-1; MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase; cPLA2, cytosolic phospholipase A2; iPLA2, calcium-independent intracellular PLA2; COX, cyclooxygenase; HO-1, heme oxygenase-1; CCR7, chemokine receptor 7; CCL21, chemokine ligand 21; α-SMA, α smooth muscle actin; Fsp-1, fibroblast-specific protein 1; TGF, transforming growth factor; Sphk1, sphingosine kinase 1; S1P, sphingosine 1-phosphate; PPAR-γ, peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor-γ; SOD, superoxide dismutase; CAT, catalase; GR, glutathione reductase; GPx, glutathione peroxidase; GSH, glutathione; MDA, malondialdehyde; iNOS, inducible nitric oxide synthase; NEDD4, neural precursor cell expressed, developmentally downregulated 4; M6PRBP1, mannose-6-phosphate receptor binding protein 1.