Abstract
One of the most systematically studied bioactive nutraceuticals for its benefits in the management of various diseases is the turmeric-derived compounds: curcumin. Turmeric obtained from the rhizome of a perennial herb Curcuma longa L. is a condiment commonly used in our diet. Curcumin is well known for its potential role in inhibiting cancer by targeting epigenetic machinery, with DNA methylation at the forefront. The dynamic DNA methylation processes serve as an adaptive mechanism to a wide variety of environmental factors, including diet. Every healthy tissue has a precise DNA methylation pattern that changes during cancer development, forming a cancer-specific design. Hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes, global DNA demethylation, and promoter hypomethylation of oncogenes and prometastatic genes are hallmarks of nearly all types of cancer, including breast cancer. Curcumin has been shown to modulate epigenetic events that are dysregulated in cancer cells and possess the potential to prevent cancer or enhance the effects of conventional anti-cancer therapy. Although mechanisms underlying curcumin-mediated changes in the epigenome remain to be fully elucidated, the mode of action targeting both hypermethylated and hypomethylated genes in cancer is promising for cancer chemoprevention. This review provides a comprehensive discussion of potential epigenetic mechanisms of curcumin in reversing altered patterns of DNA methylation in breast cancer that is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among females worldwide. Insight into the other bioactive components of turmeric rhizome as potential epigenetic modifiers has been indicated as well.
Highlights
The rates of incidence and mortality from female breast cancer are swiftly increasing worldwide
This review provides a comprehensive discussion of potential epigenetic mechanisms of curcumin in reversing altered patterns of DNA methylation in breast cancer
According to reports of the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA), 100 g of turmeric rhizome contain from 2% to 9% of curcumin and other curcuminoids, as well as several vitamins
Summary
The rates of incidence and mortality from female breast cancer are swiftly increasing worldwide. Increased incidence rates of breast cancer in successive generations of the developed countries with higher HDI (The Human Development Index) and transitioned countries are attributed to a raised prevalence of known risk factors [1,2]. Those risk factors are related to menstruation (early menarche, late menopause), reproduction (nulliparity, the postponement of childbearing, having fewer children), exogenous hormone intake (prolonged oral contraception and hormone replacement therapy), nutrition (poor diet with excessive consumption of processed meat and red meat, alcohol abuse), anthropometry (overweight in adulthood, greater levels of obesity, mass and distribution of body fat), cigarette smoking, and physical inactivity. The turmeric rhizome contains curcumin and other antioxidative agents, such as C and E vitamins, several minerals, as well as Bgroup vitamins (i.e., B2, B6 and B9 vitamins) participating in one-carbon metabolism via regulation of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM, a ubiquitous methyl group donor) pool and DNA methylation reaction
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