Abstract: Objective To study the effect of curcumin on the expression of inflammatory factors in model rats with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome(CP/CPPS)type III.Methods The rats wererandomlydivided into following groups: sham-operated group(sham), CP/CPPS model group(model), curcumin 50 mg group(cur-50 mg) and curcumin 100mg group(cur-100 mg) and p38 inhibitor group(SB203580). Drug was given to each treatment group for 12days by intraperitoneal injection. The levels of TNF-α, p38, COX-2 mRNA were measured by Real-Time PCR.The expressions of TNF-α and COX-2 proteins were measured by immunohistochemistry.The levels of p38, p-p38andNF-κB proteins were detected by Western blot.Results NF-κB, p-p38, TNF-α, COX-2 proteins and TNF-α, p38, COX-2 mRNA in model group were higher than those in the sham group (P<0.01); cur-100mg group and SB203580 group could significantly relieve these change in the model group (P<0.01);COX-2 mRNA and protein in cur-100mg group decreased more than that in SB203580 group; p-p38 was positively correlated with NF-κB in curcumin groups and SB203580 group compared with model group(P<0.01). Conclusions Curcumincanreduce the expressions of inflammatory cytokinesNF-κB, TNF-α, COX-2 and p-p38in model rats with CP/CPPStype III.

Key words: CP/CPPS, p-p38, inflammatory factors , curcumin