LAUSR

PROBLEM It has long been known that Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, serotype CP8) is associated with clinical mastitis in cows, and recent scientific studies have shown that curcumin (CUR) is effective in anti-inflammatory. However, the mechanism of action of curcumin on S. aureus-induced cows has not been fully understood. Therefore, this study investigated whether curcumin could improve the inflammation response in mice mastitis and to clarify the possible mechanism. METHOD of study: A mouse mastitis model was established. The mice were administered curcumin (125 mg/kg), ciprofloxacin (130 mg/kg, CIP), and water (model group) for 5 days. RESULTS CUR and CIP treatment prevented the S. aureus-induced mouse mastitis increase the levels of IL-2, IL-10, and IFN-γ and decrease levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α. Additionally, RT-PCR results showed that 20 μg/mL curcumin inhibited the mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, TRAF6 and MEKK1 in murine mammary epithelial cells (MMECs). Likewise, Western blotting results showed that CUR inhibited the expression of TRAF6 and MEKK1. CONCLUSION These results indicated that CUR is superior to CIP in the prevention of mastitis, and the mechanism may be that the curative effect of CUR inhibits TLR-2 mediated NF-κB signaling pathway in mouse mastitis.