Effects of curcumin on chronic bacterial prostatitis in rats and its mechanism

Abstract:

Objective：To evaluate the influence of curcumin on the inflammation status of chronic bacterial prostatitis（CBP） in rats and to explore its possible mechanism. Methods：Totally 40 SD rats were randomly divided into following groups：curcumin 200 mg group，curcumin 100 mg group，ofloxacin group，model group and sham-operated group. CBP rat model was established by injecting escherichia coli strains into the prostate. After one month，drug was given to each treatment group for 12 d and the pathological changes of collected prostate samples were observed under electron microscope. The levels of cyclooxygenase-2（COX-2） and inducible nitric oxide synthase（iNOS） mRNA were characterized by real-time PCR and the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α） was detected by ELISA and the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α（NF-κB） was detected by Western blot. Results：①The levels of COX-2，iNOS mRNA and TNF-α protein were remarkable higher in model group than in sham-operated group（P=0.000，P=0.000，P=0.000）. The levels of COX-2，iNOS mRNA and TNF-α protein were decreased in each treatment group than in model group（P<0.01） and the de－crease was more obvious in curcumin 200 mg group than in curcumin 100 mg group and ofloxacin group（COX-2：P=0.015，P=0.000；iNOS：P=0.000，P=0.000）. ②Curcumin therapy can inhibit the level of nuclear factor kappa b（NF-κB） and the effect enhanced with the increase of the dose. The effect was positively correlated with the level of COX-2，iNOS and TNF-α（rs=0.959，P=0.000；rs=0.945，P=0.000；rs=0.910，P=0.000）. Ofloxacin exerted no effect on NF-κB. Conclusion：Curcumin can suppress the inflammation of CBP in rats and the effect enhances with the increase of the dose. The effect may have a close relationship with the level of NF-κB.