title: Curcumin upregulates insulin-like growth factor binding protein-5 (IGFBP-5) and C/EBPalpha during oral cancer suppression.
abstract: Curcumin is a common food ingredient derived from the plant Curcuma longa and is a potent drug against tumorigenesis. Both insulin-like growth factor binding protein-5 (IGFBP-5) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (C/EBPalpha) are suppressors of head and neck carcinogenesis. We identified curcumin as an inducer of IGFBP-5 expression in multiple types of oral keratinocytes; furthermore, curcumin induces IGFBP-5 promoter activity in SAS oral cancer cells. Promoter deletion mapping identified a region (nt -71 to nt -59 relative to the transcription start site) as containing a C/EBPalpha-binding element that is indispensable for curcumin-mediated IGFBP-5 upregulation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that in vivo binding of C/EBPalpha to this region was remarkably increased in the presence of curcumin. Curcumin increased nuclear C/EBPalpha expression and IGFBP-5 expression through p38 activation and this was abrogated by SB203580 treatment. Furthermore, MKK6 expression activated p38 and C/EBPalpha, increasing IGFBP-5 promoter activity and expression. Finally, curcumin-induced IGFBP-5 expression is associated with the suppression of xenograft tumorigenesis in mice due to oral cancer cells. We conclude that curcumin activates p38, which, in turn, activates the C/EBPalpha transactivator by interacting with binding elements in the IGFBP-5 promoter. The consequential upregulation of C/EBPalpha and IGFBP-5 by curcumin is crucial to the suppression of oral carcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuo-Wei
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Pei-Shih
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: I-Ying
authors.initials: IY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Chung-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Li-Kai
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yin-Meng
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Shu-Chun
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D022763:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*; D047369:Chromatin Immunoprecipitation; D003474:Curcumin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017931:DNA Primers; D024202:Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay; D005260:Female; D018975:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 5 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D016688:Mice, Inbred NOD; D016513:Mice, SCID; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D022763:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-alpha; D017931:DNA Primers; D018975:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 5; D003474:Curcumin