Pretreatment of curcumin attenuates coagulopathy and renal injury in LPS-induced endotoxemia

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a lethal situation in severe infections, characterized by the systemic formation of microthrombi complicated with bleeding tendency and organ dysfunction. Current clinical trials are not promising. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of curcumin in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced DIC model in rats. Experimental DIC was induced by sustained infusion of LPS (10 mg/kg body weight) for 4 h through the tail vein. Curcumin (60 mg/kg body weight) was given intraperitoneally 3 h before LPS infusion. Results showed that, in vivo, curcumin reduced the mortality rate of LPS-infused rats by decreasing the circulating TNF-alpha levels and the consumption of peripheral platelets and plasma fibrinogen. Furthermore, in vivo curcumin also has the effect of preventing the formation of fibrin deposition in the glomeruli of kidney. These results reveal the therapeutic potential of curcumin in infectionrelated coagulopathy of DIC.