AIM:To explore the influence of
curcumin on intima hyperphasia of iliac artery in rabbits after balloon injury. METHODS:Thirty
New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into 3 groups of 10 rats in each:control group,atorvastatin group and
curcumin group.On the basis of high fat feed,rabbits in the 3 groups received gastric perfusion of atorvastatin(2.5 mg/kg per day),curcumin(100 mg/kg per day) and saline(5 mL per day),respectively.Model of ballon injury of iliac artery was established after a week.At the 5th week, blood lipid,superoxide dismutase(SOD), malondiadehyde(MDA) and interleukin 6(IL 6) were examined, and the target vessel was taken out.The intima hyperplasia was observed by using HE and elastic fibers staining.Cell
apoptosis was determined with electron microscopy and apoptosis gene P53 and Caspase3 were detected. RESULTS:The contents of triacylglycerol(TG)<(1.70± 0.61),(1.16 ± 0.15) and(0.96± 0.43) mmol/L>,total cholesterol(TC),low density lipid(LDL),IL 6 in the blood and the area of neointima from high to low was the control group >atorvastatin group >curcumin group.The content of HDL from high to low was curcumin group >atorvastatin group >control group.The content of SOD in the curcumin group was apparently higher than those in the other two groups, and the content of MDA in the curcumin group was obviously lower than that in the control group.Gene P53 and caspase3 were significantly increased in the curcumin group.The results of electron microscopy showed that there was obvious apoptosis in the amooth muscle cell of the curcumin group. CONCLUSION:Curcumin can suppress the intima proliferation of iliac artery in rabbits after balloon injury.The mechanism may be related to the effects of curcumin in adjusting lipid,diminishing inflammation,reducing oxidative stress and inducing apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells.