Background:
The prevalence of heart failure (HF) is frequent in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). One common link between CRF and HF is inflammation. Curcumin, the principal curcuminoid of the Indian curry spice turmeric, is known for its antitumor anti-inflammatory properties. We therefore hypothesized that curcumin would attenuate cardiomyopathy in nephrectomized rats.
Methods and Results:
Adult Sprague-Dawley rats underwent nephrectomy (Nx) by removal of 5/6 of the kidneys. Four groups were studied for 7 weeks: 1- Control (sham), 2- Nx, 3- Nx + curcumin (75mg/kg; bid), 4- Nx + enalapril (15 mg/kg; bid) as positive control. The systolic blood pressure (SBP, mmHg) of Nx rats was 152±5, significantly higher than control (115±2) and enalapril-treated rats (125±3). Curcumin did not reduce SBP (141±4). BUN (mg/dl) and creatinine (mg/dl) levels of Nx rats (67±7 and 1.92±0.08, respectively) were higher than control (P<0.001). Both curcumin and enalapril significantly reduced BUN (40±2 and 43±4, respectively) and creatinine (0.95±0.05 and 0.77±0.06, respectively) (P<0.001 vs. Nx). Moreover, Nx rats exhibited severe proteinurea (mg/18 hours) (316±36) as compared to controls (34±5) which was blunted by curcumin (183±40, P<0.001) and enalapril (180±17, P<0.001). Right and left cardiac hypertrophy was assessed by weighing the right (RV) and left ventricles (LV) and normalizing with body weight. Nx rats had significant RV and LV hypertrophy (P<0.01). Curcumin and enalapril effectively decreased LV hypertrophy (P<0.05), however, RV hypertrophy was only decreased by curcumin (P<0.05). Echocardiography data revealed a significant increase in LV mass in Nx rats (1.47±0.19) as compared with controls (0.98±0.04, P<0.01). Curcumin and enalapril-treated rats had LV mass of 0.95±0.1 (P<0.01) and 0.93±0.3 (P<0.05), respectively. LV end-diastolic diameter (EDD, mm) was higher in Nx rats (7.2±0.2) as compared to controls (6.4±0.2, P=0.01). Curcumin and enalapril attenuated LV dilatation as shown by EDD of 6.3±0.5 and 6.2±0.5, respectively (P=0.01).
Conclusion:
These results show that curcumin attenuates cardiac hypertrophy and remodeling in nephrectomized rats independent of BP. Therefore, curcumin may be useful in suppressing HF in patients with CRF.
Contribution of phosphorus and PTH to the development of cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in an experimental model of chronic renal failure
