Curcumin Promotes Cell Cycle Arrest and Inhibits Survival of Human Renal Cancer Cells by Negative Modulation of the PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway.
Curcumin possesses anti-cancer effects. In the current study, we tested the effect of curcumin on cell proliferation, viability, apoptosis, cell cycle phases, and activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway in the renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell line RCC-949. We observed that cell proliferation and viability were markedly inhibited by curcumin, while cell apoptosis was promoted. The latter effect was associated with increased expression of Bcl-2 and diminished expression of Bax (both: mRNA and protein). The cells treated with curcumin increasingly went into cell cycle arrest, which was likely mediated by diminished expression of cyclin B1, as seen in curcumin-treated cells. In addition, curcumin decreased activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that curcumin exerts anti-cancer effects by negative modulation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and may represent a promising new drug to treat RCC.
Department of Urology Surgery, The Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, No. 195 of Tongbai Road, Zhengzhou, 450007, China. drzhanghao01@163.com.
Hao
H
Zhang
Department of Urology Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.
Weili
W
Xu
Department of Anesthesiology, The Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450007, China.
Baolin
B
Li
Department of Urology Surgery, The Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, No. 195 of Tongbai Road, Zhengzhou, 450007, China.
Kai
K
Zhang
Department of Urology Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.
Yudong
Y
Wu
Department of Urology Surgery, The Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, No. 195 of Tongbai Road, Zhengzhou, 450007, China.
Haidong
H
Xu
Department of Urology Surgery, The Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, No. 195 of Tongbai Road, Zhengzhou, 450007, China.
Junyong
J
Wang
Department of Urology Surgery, The Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, No. 195 of Tongbai Road, Zhengzhou, 450007, China.
Jun
J
Zhang
Department of Urology Surgery, The Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, No. 195 of Tongbai Road, Zhengzhou, 450007, China.
Rui
R
Fan
Department of Urology Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.
Jinxing
J
Wei
D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000378:metabolism*; D059447:Cell Cycle Checkpoints / Q000187:drug effects*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival; D003474:Curcumin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D003474:Curcumin
AKT; Cell apoptosis; Cell cycle arrest; Curcumin; Human renal cell carcinoma; PI3K