title: In vitro and in vivo anti-tumoral effect of curcumin against melanoma cells.
abstract: Curcumin, the active ingredient from the spice turmeric (Curcuma longa Linn), is known to be an anti-oxidant and an anti-inflammatory agent. It has been demonstrated recently to possess anti-angiogenic effects and pro-apoptotic activities against Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. In the current study, curcumin was found to be cytotoxic in vitro for B16-R melanoma cells resistant to doxorubicin either cultivated as monolayers or grown in three-dimensional (3-D) cultures (spheroids). We have demonstrated that the cytotoxic effect observed in the 2 culture types can be related to the induction of programmed cell death. In our in vivo studies, we examined the effectiveness of a prophylactic immune preparation of soluble proteins from B16-R cells, or a treatment with curcumin as soon as tumoral appearance, alone or in combination, on the murine melanoma B16-R. The combination treatment resulted in substantial inhibition of growth of B16-R melanoma, whereas each treatment by itself showed little effect. Moreover, animals receiving the combination therapy exhibited an enhancement of their humoral anti-soluble B16-R protein immune response and a significant increase in their median survival time (> 82.8% vs. 48.6% and 45.7% respectively for the immunized group and the curcumin-treated group). Our study shows that curcumin may provide a valuable tool for the development of a therapeutic combination against the melanoma.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire, EA 3306 U.F.R Sciences, Reims, France.
authors.forename: Johann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Odot
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carlier
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tarpin
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Devy
authors.forename: Claudie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Madoulet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use / Q000633:toxicity*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003474:Curcumin / Q000627:therapeutic use / Q000633:toxicity*; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D008546:Melanoma, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D008517:Phytotherapy
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D003474:Curcumin