Heat-solubilized curry spice curcumin inhibits antibody-antigen interaction in in vitro studies: a possible therapy to alleviate autoimmune disorders

Mol Nutr Food Res. 2010 Aug;54(8):1202-9. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.200900106.

Abstract

Chronic and complex autoimmune diseases, currently treated palliatively with immunosuppressives, require multi-targeted therapy for greater effectiveness. The naturally occurring polyphenol curcumin has emerged as a powerful "nutraceutical" that interacts with multiple targets to regress diseases safely and inexpensively. Up to 8 g/day of curcumin for 18 months was non-toxic to humans. However, curcumin's utility is limited by its aqueous insolubility. We have demonstrated a heat-mediated 12-fold increase in curcumin's aqueous solubility. Here, we show by SDS-PAGE and surface plasmon resonance that heat-solubilized curcumin binds to proteins. Based on this binding we hypothesized that heat-solubilized curcumin or turmeric would prevent autoantibody targeting of cognate autoantigens. Heat-solubilized curcumin/turmeric significantly decreased binding of autoantibodies from Sjögren's syndrome (up to 43/70%, respectively) and systemic lupus erythematosus (up to 52/70%, respectively) patients as well as an animal model of Sjögren's syndrome (up to 50/60%, respectively) to their cognate antigens. However, inhibition was not specific to autoimmunity. Heat-solubilized curcumin/turmeric also inhibited binding of commercial polyclonal anti-spectrin to spectrin (50/56%, respectively). Thus, we suggest that the multifaceted heat-solubilized curcumin can ameliorate autoimmune disorders. In addition, the non-toxic curcumin could serve as a new protein stain in SDS-PAGE even though it is less sensitive than the Coomassie system which involves toxic chemicals.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antigen-Antibody Reactions / drug effects*
  • Autoantibodies / immunology
  • Autoantibodies / metabolism
  • Autoantigens / immunology
  • Autoantigens / metabolism
  • Autoimmune Diseases / diet therapy
  • Autoimmune Diseases / immunology*
  • Curcuma / chemistry
  • Curcuma / metabolism
  • Curcumin / chemistry*
  • Curcumin / metabolism
  • Curcumin / pharmacology*
  • Dietary Supplements
  • Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel / methods
  • Hot Temperature*
  • Humans
  • Immunologic Factors / chemistry*
  • Immunologic Factors / metabolism
  • Immunologic Factors / pharmacology*
  • Indicators and Reagents
  • Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / immunology
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry
  • Plant Extracts / metabolism
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology
  • Sjogren's Syndrome / immunology
  • Solubility
  • Spectrin / immunology
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance

Substances

  • Autoantibodies
  • Autoantigens
  • Immunologic Factors
  • Indicators and Reagents
  • Plant Extracts
  • Spectrin
  • turmeric extract
  • Curcumin