NFKB1 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Curcumin, a natural polyphenol compound isolated from traditional Chinese medicine such as turmeric, was found to effectively attenuate airway inflammation and airway remodeling in COPD mice and inhibit the proliferation of human bronchial epithelial cells, which may be related to its inhibition of IκBα degradation and Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression, suggesting that curcumin may reduce COPD airway remodeling through inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway and COX-2 expression.