title: Curcumin inhibits telomerase activity through human telomerase reverse transcritpase in MCF-7 breast cancer cell line.
abstract: The inhibitory effect of curcumin, the yellow-colored pigment from turmeric, on telomerase activity was analyzed in human mammary epithelial (MCF-10A) and breast cancer (MCF-7) cells. Telomerase activity in MCF-7 cells is 6.9-fold higher than that of human mammary epithelial cells. In MCF-7 cells, telomerase activity decreased with increasing concentrations of curcumin, inhibiting about 93.4% activity at 100 microM concentration. The inhibition of telomerase activity in MCF-7 cells may be due to down-regulation of hTERT expression. Increasing concentrations of curcumin caused a steady decrease in the level of hTERT mRNA in MCF-7 cells whereas the level of hTER and c-myc mRNAs remained the same. Our results suggest that curcumin inhibits telomerase activity by down-regulating hTERT expression in breast cancer cells and this down-regulation is not through the c-myc pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Miami Children's Hospital, 3100 SW 62nd Avenue, FL 33155, USA. cheppail.ramachandran@mch.com
authors.forename: Cheppail
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ramachandran
authors.forename: Hugo B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.forename: Perseus
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jhabvala
authors.forename: Enrique A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Escalon
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Melnick
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology*; D003474:Curcumin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015536:Down-Regulation; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019098:Telomerase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm; D019098:Telomerase; D003474:Curcumin