Abstract:
This study investigated the effect of curcumin on the expression of wound healing-related genes including transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), transforming growth factor beta receptor type I (TGFβR I), transforming growth factor beta receptor type II (TGFβR II) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in human gingival fibroblasts. The cytotoxicity of curcumin was determined by MTT assay. Then, cells were treated with non-cytotoxic concentrations of curcumin for 24 hours and the level of gene expression was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Curcumin at 0.1-20 µM caused no significant change in cell viability while higher concentrations of curcumin (30 and 50 µM) are cytotoxic. Curcumin dose dependently increased the TGF-β1 expression while 1 µM curcumin is the optimal concentration for inducing TGFβR I, TGFβR II, and VEGF expression. However, no statistically significant difference was found in any of these inductions. In conclusion, curcumin may regulate the expression of genes involved in wound healing in human gingival fibroblasts but further investigation is needed.
