Abstract
BackgroundCurcumin is a principal compound of turmeric, commonly used to treat tumors and other diseases. However, its anti-cancer activity in human acute monocytic leukemia THP-1 cells is not clear. This study aimed to study the anti-cancer effect and action of curcumin on THP-1 cells.MethodsTHP-1 parental cells and PMA-treated THP-1 cells, were used as in vitro models to evaluate the anti-cancer effect and mechanism of curcumin. Apoptosis and its mechanism were evaluated by WST-1, flow cytometry and Western blotting. MAPK inhibitors were used to further confirm the molecular mechanism of curcumin-induced THP-1 cell apoptosis.ResultsCurcumin induced cell apoptosis of THP-1 cells as shown by cell viability, cell cycle analysis and caspase activity. Curcumin significantly increased the phosphorylation of ERK, JNK and their downstream molecules (c-Jun and Jun B). Inhibitor of JNK and ERK reduced the pro-apoptotic effect of curcumin on THP-1 cells as evidenced by caspase activity and the activation of ERK/JNK/Jun cascades. On the contrary, the pro-apoptotic effect of curcumin was abolished in the differentiated THP-1 cells mediated by PMA.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that curcumin can induce the THP-1 cell apoptosis through the activation of JNK/ERK/AP1 pathways. Besides, our data suggest its novel use as an anti-tumor agent in acute monocytic leukemia.
Highlights
Curcumin is a principal compound of turmeric, commonly used to treat tumors and other diseases
Curcumin induces THP-1 cell apoptosis To investigate the anti-cancer effect of curcumin on THP-1 cells, a cell line of human monocytic leukemia, THP-1 cells at exponentially growing stage were incubated with different concentrations (30, 40 and 50 μM) of curcumin for 24 hours
We studied the time course of cell death of THP-1 cells treated with curcumin
Summary
Curcumin is a principal compound of turmeric, commonly used to treat tumors and other diseases. Its anti-cancer activity in human acute monocytic leukemia THP-1 cells is not clear. This study aimed to study the anti-cancer effect and action of curcumin on THP-1 cells. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a hematopoietic cancer characterized by a disorder in differentiation of hematopoiesis; this disease results in the growth of a clonal population of neoplastic cells. Malignant hematopoietic cells lead to loss of normal hematopoietic functions, which results in death within weeks to months [1]. AML is the most common type of leukemia in adults. It has the lowest survival rate of all leukemia [2]. A better understanding of the molecular biology of AML will be helpful when developing new therapeutic strategies that target molecular abnormalities.
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