Effect of curcumin on the expression of NOD2 receptor and pro-inflammatory cytokines in fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Background: Previous studies has shown that nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain-containing protein 2 (NOD2) is expressed in Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients which is stimulated by muramyl dipeptide (MDP) present in the joint environment and induces inflammation via the NF-κB pathway. Also, other studies have shown that curcumin inhibits proliferation, migration, invasion, and Inflammation and on the other hand increases the apoptosis of RA FLSs. In this study, we aim to evaluate the effect of curcumin, a natural anti-inflammatory micronutrient, on the expression of NOD2 and inflammatory cytokines.

Methods: Synovial membranes were collected from ten patients diagnosed with RA and ten individuals with traumatic injuries scheduled for knee surgery. The FLSs were isolated and treated with 40 μM curcumin alone or in combination with 20.3 μM MDP for 24 h. mRNA was extracted, and real-time PCR was performed to quantitatively measure gene expression levels of NOD2, p65, IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β.

Results: The study findings indicate that administering MDP alone can significantly increase the mRNA expression levels of IL-6 and IL-1β in the trauma group and TNF-α in the RA group. Conversely, administering curcumin alone or in combination whit MDP can significantly reduce mRNA expression levels of P65 and IL-6 in FLSs of both groups. Moreover, in FLSs of RA patients, a single curcumin treatment leads to a significant reduction in NOD2 gene expression.

Conclusion: This study provides preliminary in vitro evidence of the potential benefits of curcumin as a nutritional supplement for RA patients. Despite the limitations of the study being an investigation of the FLSs of RA patients, the results demonstrate that curcumin has an anti-inflammatory effect on NOD2 and NF-κB genes. These findings suggest that curcumin could be a promising approach to relieve symptoms of RA.