Curcumin inhibits the formation of atherosclerosis in ApoE -/- mice by suppressing cytomegalovirus activity in endothelial cells.

Background: Curcumin (Cur) is a hydrophobic polyphenol compound derived from the rhizome of the herb Curcuma longa. Cur has a wide spectrum of biological and pharmacological activities. It has been shown that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection was an important risk factor for atherosclerosis (AS) and Cur exhibited an outstanding anti-HCMV effect. However, anti-AS effects of Cur remain unclear when HCMV infected endothelial cells.
Aims: This study will investigate the anti-AS activities and mechanism of Cur,when HCMV infected in vivo and in vitro.
Materials and Methods: Cur (0.5, 1, and 2 μM) was used to explore the anti-AS activities and mechanism after HCMV infected endothelial cells in vitro. ApoE ^-/- mice were fed a high fat and cholesterol diet (HD) and given 4000,000 copies/mouse MCMV infection by intraperitoneal and treated with ganciclovir (5 mg/kg/d), Cur (25, 15 mg/kg/d) for 10 weeks in vivo.
Key Findings: As our results showed that Cur inhibited CMV replication and proliferation, reduced the intracellular ROS overproduction, decreased the release of inflammatory cytokines, down-regulated the level of HMGB1-TLRS-NF-κB signaling pathway-related proteins in vitro experiments. Cur reduced the serum levels of LDL-C, TC and TG, significantly decreased the formation of atherosclerotic plaque in the aorta, reduced the lipid deposition in liver and inflammatory damage in heart, lung and kidney in vivo experiments.
Significance: This study showed that Cur prevent AS progression by inhibiting CMV activity and CMV-induced HMGB1-TLRS-NF-κB signaling pathway.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declared they do not have anything to disclose regarding conflict of interest with respect to this manuscript.
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