The Protective Effects of Curcumin on Obesity-Related Glomerulopathy Are Associated with Inhibition of Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Activation in Podocytes

Figure 6

Effects of curcumin on leptin-activated Wnt/β-catenin signaling in cultured podocytes. Well-differentiated conditionally immortalized mouse podocytes were incubated in normal medium, medium containing 15 ng/mL leptin, medium containing 5 μmol/L curcumin, or medium containing both 15 ng/mL leptin and 5 μmol/L curcumin, respectively. (a) After 9 h, cells were collected and the mRNA expression levels of Wnt1, Wnt2b, Wnt6, and β-catenin were measured by relative quantitative real-time RT-PCR. (b) After 24 h, cells were lysed and total lysates were analyzed by Western blot assay with anti-phosphorylated β-catenin antibody and total β-catenin antibody, respectively. The relative phosphorylated β-catenin level was expressed as the phosphorylated β-catenin/total β-catenin ratio. Values are represented as mean ± SD (). versus control group and versus leptin alone group.

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