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Aim: Aquaporins (AQPs) are the water-channels that play important roles in brain water homeostasis and in cerebral edema induced by brain injury. In this study we investigated the relationship between AQPs and a neuroprotective agent curcumin that was effective in the treatment of brain edema in mice with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods: ICH was induced in mice by autologous blood infusion. The mice immediately received curcumin (75, 150, and 300 mg/kg, ip). The Rotarod test scores, brain water content and brain expression of AQPs were measured post ICH. Cultured primary mouse astrocytes were used for in vitro experiments. The expression of AQP1, AQP4 and AQP9 and NF-κB p65 were detected using Western blotting or immunochemistry staining. Results: Curcumin administration dose-dependently reduced the cerebral edema at d 3 post ICH, and significantly attenuated the neurological deficits at d 5 post ICH. Furthermore, curcumin dose-dependently decreased the gene and protein expression of AQP4 and AQP9, but not AQP1 post ICH. Treatment of the cultured astrocytes with Fe 2+ (10-100 µmol/L) dose-dependently increased the expression and nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 and the expression of AQP4 and AQP9, which were partly blocked by co-treatment with curcumin (20 µmol/L) or the NF-κB inhibitor PDTC (10 µmol/L). Conclusion: Curcumin effectively attenuates brain edema in mice with ICH through inhibition of the NF-κB pathway and subsequently the expression of AQP4 and AQP9. Curcumin may serve as a potential therapeutic agent for ICH.

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