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Updated: Jun 23, 2026
Isolation of Primary Patient-specific Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells and Semiquantitative Real-time Contraction Measurements In Vitro
Published on: February 15, 2022
Curcumin prevents human aortic smooth muscle cells migration by inhibiting of MMP-9 expression
1Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, Chang Jung Christian University, Tainan, Taiwan. yuyamei@hotmail.com
Background And Aim:
The migration of vascular smooth muscle cells from the tunica media to the subendothelial region is a key event in the development of atherosclerosis. Curcumin, which is consumed daily by millions of people, is a polyphenol derived from the plant Curcuma longa. In this study, we investigated the effects of curcumin on tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)-induced cell migration, the formation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), the translocation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NFkappaB) and the activation and expression of MMP-9 in human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs).
Methods And Results:
The Matrigel migration assay showed that curcumin (10 and 20 micromol/l) effectively inhibited TNF-alpha-induced migration of HASMCs as compared with the control group. To explain this inhibitory effect, MMP-9 was assayed by gelatin zymography and Western blot. The results indicated that curcumin inhibited MMP-9 activity and expression. Furthermore, the production of ROS and the nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB p50 and p65 induced by TNF-alpha were dose-dependently suppressed by curcumin pretreatment.
Conclusion:
These results indicate that curcumin has anti-inflammatory properties and may prevent the migration of HASMCs by suppressing MMP-9 expression through down-regulation of NF-kappaB.
