title: Curcumin regulates hepatoma cell proliferation and apoptosis through the Notch signaling pathway.
abstract: Curcumin has become a compound of interest for its antioxidant and anti-neoplastic properties. This study sought to determine the effect of curcumin administration on cell proliferation and apoptosis in hepatoma cells. SMMC-7721 hepatoma cells were treated with 10, 30, or 90 μM curcumin solution, with DMEM alone (negative control), or with 20 mg/L fluorouracil (positive control). MTT colorimetry detected significant differences in the rates of cell proliferation inhibition following curcumin treatment, with increasing inhibition accompanying increasing doses of curcumin (P < 0.05), compared to the negative control. Similarly, flow cytometry revealed significant differences in the numbers of apoptotic cells following curcumin treatment: increasing doses of curcumin produced increases in the numbers of apoptotic cells (P < 0.05). To determine whether curcumin exerts these effects by altering the Notch signaling pathway, a phenomenon reported for other cancers, relative expression of Notch1 mRNA and protein were determined in curcumin-treated cells. Both mRNA and protein expression of Notch1 decreased with increasing curcumin dose (P < 0.05). Thus, curcumin appears to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in hepatoma cells by altering the Notch signaling pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Zheng-Cai
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Zhao-Xu
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Jing-Shi
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Tao
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Qi-Ke
authors.initials: QK
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Li-Li
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Guang-Xin
authors.initials: GX
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an 710032, China.
authors.forename: Kai-Shan
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Tao
keywords: Curcumin; Notch signal pathway; apoptosis; hepatoma cell; proliferation
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