Curcumin protects against interleukin-6-induced rapid Ca～(2+) influx in rat hippocampal neurons

The current study sought to investigate the potential protective action of curcumin against interleukin-6-induced injury in rat hippocampal neurons.The results revealed that interleukin-6 induced typical cellular injury,such as the swelling of cell bodies and increased Ca2+ concentration.After administration of curcumin,interleukin-6-induced neurons recovered to a normal state,and the fluorescence intensity of Ca2+ gradually returned to normal.These findings suggest that curcumin exerts a protective effect on hippocampal neurons of rats.In addition,our results suggest that the protective effect of curcumin involves prevention of the rapid Ca2+ influx induced by interleukin-6,which maintains Ca2+ homeostasis.