TY - JOUR AB - Curcumin (CUR) is well known for its anti‑inflammatory and antioxidant effects. However, the endothelial protective effect of CUR in diabetes and the underlying signaling pathway remains unclear. The goal of the current study was to provide evidence regarding the protective mechanism of CUR against the high glucose (HG)‑induced damage to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). HG‑induced HUVECs injury model was used to evaluate the protective effect and the underlying mechanism of CUR against endothelial injury. The cell viability was determined by the MTT method. The cell reactive oxygen species (ROS) were determined by using flow cytometry. The protein expression levels of Bcl‑2, Bax, LC3‑II/I, Beclin‑1, p62, cleaved caspase‑3, IκBα and NF‑κB were measured by the western blotting. Results showed that CUR significantly decreased the cell apoptosis, the ROS generation and the inflammatory cytokine NF‑κB activity in the HG‑induced HUVECs versus the control, P<0.05. In addition, CUR significantly increased the expressions of LC3‑II/I, Beclin‑1, IκBα and Bax/Bcl‑2 in the HG‑induced HUVECs versus the control, P<0.05. Furthermore, the addition of autophagy inhibitor 3‑MA impaired the autophagy, exacerbated the apoptotic death and increased the ROS and NF‑κB levels in HUVECs under the high glucose condition, P<0.05. In brief, autophagy served a protective role in the HG‑induced apoptosis in HUVECs and CUR alleviated apoptosis by promoting autophagy and inhibiting the ROS/NF‑κB signaling pathway. AD - Department of Geriatric Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, P.R. China College of Medical Technology, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310053, P.R. China Department of Internal Medicine, Shangcheng District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310000, P.R. China AU - Jin,Qi-Hui AU - Hu,Xu-Jun AU - Zhao,Hai-Yan DA - 2022/09/01 DO - 10.3892/etm.2022.11533 IS - 3 JO - Exp Ther Med KW - curcumin autophagy high glucose apoptosis NF‑κB reactive oxygen species PY - 2022 SN - 1792-0981 1792-1015 SP - 596 ST - Curcumin activates autophagy and attenuates high glucose‑induced apoptosis in HUVECs through the ROS/NF‑κB signaling pathway T2 - Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine TI - Curcumin activates autophagy and attenuates high glucose‑induced apoptosis in HUVECs through the ROS/NF‑κB signaling pathway UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2022.11533 VL - 24 ER -