Curcumin could reduce the monomer of TTR with Tyr114Cys mutation via autophagy in cell model of familial amyloid polyneuropathy

Abstract

Transthyretin (TTR) familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) is an autosomal dominant inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by various mutations in the transthyretin gene. We aimed to identify the mechanisms underlying TTR FAP with Tyr114Cys (Y114C) mutation. Our study showed that TTR Y114C mutation led to an increase in monomeric TTR and impaired autophagy. Treatment with curcumin resulted in a significant decrease of monomeric TTR by recovering autophagy. Our research suggests that impairment of autophagy might be involved in the pathogenesis of TTR FAP with Y114C mutation, and curcumin might be a potential therapeutic approach for TTR FAP.

Keywords:

• curcumin
• familial amyloid polyneuropathy
• transthyretin
• autophagy

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from the National Program of Basic Research of China (2010CB945200, 2011CB504104), The National Natural Science Foundation of China (number 81301081), the Shanghai Key Project of Basic Science Research (10411954500), and the Program for Outstanding Medical Academic Leader (LJ 06003).

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.