Curcumin inhibits calcification of human aortic valve interstitial cells by interfering NF-κB, AKT, and ERK pathways

The osteogenic differentiation of human aortic valve interstitial cells (hVICs) is the key cellular mechanism of calcified aortic valve disease (CAVD). This study aimed to explore how curcumin (CCM) inhibits the osteogenic differentiation of hVICs and elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved. In this study, CCM inhibited the osteogenic differentiation of hVICs under osteogenic medium (OM) conditions by reversing the OM-induced increase in calcified nodule formation and osteogenesis-specific markers (ALP and Runx2). RNA sequencing identified 475 common differentially expressed genes with Venn diagrams of the different groups. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment revealed that the CCM inhibition of hVIC osteogenic differentiation was enriched in the NF-kappa B, PI3K-AKT, TNF, Jak-STAT, and MAPK signaling pathways. In addition, CCM suppressed the phosphorylation of ERK, I kappa B alpha, AKT, and interfered with the translocation of P65 into the cell nucleus in hVICs under OM culture conditions. In conclusion, CCM inhibited the osteogenic differentiation of hVICs via interfering with the activation of NF-kappa B/AKT/ERK signaling pathways. Our findings provide novel insights into a critical role for CCM in CAVD progression and shed new light on CCM-directed therapeutics for CAVD.