Curcumin inhibits apoptosis by regulating intracellular calcium release, reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial depolarization levels in SH-SY5Y neuronal cells

Neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are incurable progressive neurological disorders caused by the degeneration of neuronal cells and characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms. Curcumin, a turmeric product, is an anti-inflammatory agent and an effective reactive oxygen and nitrogen species scavenging molecule. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is the main source of oxidative stress, which is claimed to be the major source of neurological disorders. Hence, in this study we aimed to investigate the effect of curcumin on Ca2+ signaling, oxidative stress parameters, mitochondrial depolarization levels and caspase-3 and -9 activities that are induced by the H2O2 model of oxidative stress in SH-SY5Y neuronal cells. SH-SY5Y neuronal cells were divided into four groups namely, the control, curcumin, H2O2, and curcumin+H2O2 groups. The dose and duration of curcumin and H2O2 were determined from published data. The cells in the curcumin, H2O2, and curcumin+H2O2 groups were incubated for 24h with 5 mu M curcumin and 100 mu M H2O2. Lipid peroxidation and cytosolic free Ca2+ concentrations were higher in the H2O2 group than in the control group; however, their levels were lower in the curcumin and curcumin+H2O2 groups than in the H2O2 group alone. Reduced glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) values were lower in the H2O2 group although they were higher in the curcumin and curcumin+H2O2 groups than in the H2O2 group. Caspase-3 activity was lower in the curcumin group than in the H2O2 group. In conclusion, curcumin strongly induced modulator effects on oxidative stress, intracellular Ca2+ levels, and the caspase-3 and -9 values in an experimental oxidative stress model in SH-SY5Y cells.