Curcumin Inhibits CD4+ T Cell Activation, but Augments CD69 Expression and TGF-β1-Mediated Generation of Regulatory T Cells at Late Phase

Abstract

Curcumin not merely blocks, but regulates CD2/CD3/CD28-initiated CD4(+) T cell activation by augmenting CD69, CCR7, L-selectin and TGF-β1 expression followed by regulatory T cell generation. These results suggest that curcumin could directly reduce T cell-dependent inflammatory stress by modulating CD4(+) T cell activation at multiple levels.