Down-regulation of Notch1 and NF-κB by curcumin in breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231

Abstract

ObjectiveTo test whether the down-regulation of Notch1 gene expression by curcumin could inhibit cell growth and induce apoptosis, which may be associated mechanistically with the down-regulation of NF-κB in breast cancer cells.MethodsBreast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231 were cultured in vitro and treated with different dosages of curcumin (0, 1.25, 5.0, 20.0μmol/L) for dose-dependent assay and different time (0, 24, 48, 72 h) at the dosage of 5.0μmol/L for time course assay. The changes of the mRNA and protein expression of Notch1 and NF-κB were measured by RT-PCR and Western Blot, and MTT assay was used to measure the change of proliferation.ResultsThe mRNA and protein levels of Notch1 and NF-κB were decreased significantly in human breast cancer cell line with the increase of dosage of curcumin(P<0.05), and with the extension of time course(P<0.05). These changes suggested a dose- and time-dependent manner. The proliferation rate of cells also was significantly inhibited(P<0.05).ConclusionThe current results show that the Notch-1 signaling pathway is associated mechanistically with NF-κB activity during curcumin-induced cell growth inhibition and apoptosis of breast cancer cells. These results suggest that the down-regulation of Notch signaling by curcumin may be a novel strategy for the treatment of patients with breast cancer.