title: Curcumin suppresses stem-like traits of lung cancer cells via inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.
abstract: Tumor recurrence and drug resistance are the main obstacles blocking effective treatment of cancer patients. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been demonstrated to be highly related to tumor recurrence and drug resistance. Thus, eliminating CSCs may be an alternative for cancer therapy. Tumor sphere formation is a functional assay to enrich the CSC-like cells. In the present study, we tested the effects of curcumin on lung cancer stem-like cells and report that in addition to inhibition on the proliferation and colony formation of lung cancer cells, curcumin reduces tumor spheres of H460 cells. Moreover, by molecular docking analysis and tumor sphere assay we discover that curcumin was able to inhibit JAK2 activity and reduce tumor spheres via inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. In a lung cancer xenograft nude mouse model, curcumin strongly repressed tumor growth. These results imply curcumin may be a potential drug in lung CSC elimination and cancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lichuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Liangxia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yuehui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lihe
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lisheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D003474:Curcumin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D053614:Janus Kinase 2 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000737:chemistry; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D062105:Molecular Docking Simulation; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; C494086:STAT3 protein, human; C507924:JAK2 protein, human; D053614:Janus Kinase 2; D003474:Curcumin