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To observe the effect of curcumin on a C57BL/6J mouse liver cancer model induced by N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN) combined with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), and to explore its mechanism. METHODS: Forty young male C57BL/6J mice were intraperitoneally injected with DEN (25 mg/kg) 14 d after birth and randomly divided into the following 4 groups at the 4th week (10 in each group) : model control group and curcumin (100, 200 and 400 mg/ kg) groups. Ten male mice of the same age were used as normal control group. The mice in model group and curcumin groups were gavaged with 10% CCl4 (5 mL/kg) twice a week from the 8th week on. At the same time, the mice in curcumin groups were gavaged with curcumin, and the mice in normal control group were gavaged with the same volume of distilled water once a day for 14 weeks. After administration, the mice were sacrificed, the liver surface was observed, and the number of tumor nodules was compared. The activity of alanine aminotransferase ( ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in serum was detected by an automatic biochemical instrument. The pathological changes of liver tissues were observed by HE staining. The mRNA expression levels of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and NAD(P)H-quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) were detected by RT-qPCR, and the protein expression levels of HO-1, NQO1 and Ki67 were detected by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Compared with normal control group, the body weight of the mice in model group was decreased significantly (P<0. 01), the liver index was increased significantly (P<0. 01), and the serum levels of ALT and AST were increased obviously (P<0. 01). There was no significant difference in the mRNA expression levels of HO-1 and NQO1 (P>0. 05), the protein levels of HO-1 and NQO1 were increased distinctly (P<0. 05), and the positive expression rate of Ki67 was increased significantly (P<0. 05). After curcumin treatment, the body weight of the mice was significantly increased (P<0. 01), the liver index was not changed (P>0. 05), and the number of tumor nodules in the liver was decreased significantly (P<0. 05 or P<0. 01). The serum level of AST was decreased significantly (P< 0. 01), the mRNA and protein expression levels of HO-1 and NQO1 were decreased significantly (P<0. 05), and the positive expression rate of Ki67 was decreased significantly (P<0. 05). CONCLUSION: Curcumin significantly protects against liver cancer in a C57BL/6J mouse model induced by DEN combined with CCl4, and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of HO-1 and NQO1 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been discovered that a folate shortage may raise the risk of hepatic steatosis. We investigated the relationship between serum folate and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) among 3606 participants over from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Multivariate logistic regression studies were carried out to calculate the relationship between serum folate and CAP. Additionally, generalized additive models and fitted smoothing curves were carried out. After adjusting for other variables, we discovered that serum folate had a negative correlation with CAP. Males and whites maintained a negative correlation of serum folate with CAP when subgroup analyses were stratified by sex and race/ethnicity. The relationship between blood folate levels and CAP in whites had an U-shaped curve (inflection point: 34 ng/ml). According to our study, the majority of Americans, particularly men and whites, had a negative correlation between serum folate and CAP. Among white people, this connection followed an U-shaped pattern. These findings may provide guidance for monitoring serum folate level and controlling oral folate dosage in clinic, so as to prevent liver steatosis more effectively. The size of the cohort in our study is large, and our findings come from a nationally representative database. Our study revealed a negative relationship between serum folate and CAP among most Americans, especially in male and whites, which may provide evidence for medications to treat hepatic steatosis. In whites, the association of serum folate with CAP was an U-shaped curve (inflection point: 34 ng/ml). This may provide guidance for monitoring serum folate level and controlling oral folate dosage in clinic, so as to prevent liver steatosis more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]