• Radhakrishna Gopala Pillai

Curcumin is a dietary ingredient and is in use as an anti-inflammatory agent in many traditional medicines. Its effect as an anti-inflammatory agent is widely studied. Investigations were carried out on the possibility of prolonging graft rejection through curcumin administration in mice models of allograft corneal transplantation. Corneal allografting was carried out with BALB/c mice as the recipients and C3H/HeJ as donors. Mice were fed with curcumin orally and the graft survival was monitored microscopically. Expression of the genes at mRNA levels of IL1β, RANTES and iNOS were studied by real time PCR. Estimation of serum TNF α level by Elisa and Nitric oxide by spectrophotometry were also carried out. Curcumin administration was found to prolong the graft survival. Expression of the chemokines, cytokine and inducible nitric oxide synthase genes were up regulated by corneal transplantation and the administration of curcumin was found to down regulate the expression of these genes. Curcumin administration also reduced level of NO in curcumin administered mice. Both syngeneic and allo corneal transplantation resulted in enhanced immune response by up regulating the expression of chemokines and cytokines as well as by the increased production of nitric oxide. Curcumin was found to suppress the immune response to corneal transplantation in both syngeneic and allo transplantation. Curcumin is a promising molecule to be developed as a dietary component able to suppress the immune response in organ transplantation.

Curcumin, TNFα, IL1β, iNOS, NO, syngeneic graft, allograft, corneal graft

"CURCUMIN PROLONGS GRAFT SURVIVAL IN MICE MODELS OF CORNEAL ALLOGRAFTS BY SUPPRESSING THE EXPRESSION OF INFLAMMATORY FACTORS", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no.272-277, June 2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1908840.pdf

"CURCUMIN PROLONGS GRAFT SURVIVAL IN MICE MODELS OF CORNEAL ALLOGRAFTS BY SUPPRESSING THE EXPRESSION OF INFLAMMATORY FACTORS", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no. pp272-277, June 2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1908840.pdf