HEALTH NEWS

Study Title:

Curcumin Induces Direct DNA Damage to Colon Cancer Cells

Study Abstract

Curcumin (CUR), a polyphenol derived from the plant Curcuma longa, displays potential anti-cancer activity. One of the mechanisms stems from its ability to elicit cell cycle arrest followed by suppression of cell proliferation. Herein, we reported that CUR significantly induced DNA damage and mediated S and G2/M phase arrest in colorectal carcinoma HCT116 cells. Unlike etoposide, a classical topoisomerase II inhibitor, CUR-triggered G2/M phase arrest was hardly reversed by caffeine (CAFF) which is an inhibitor of activated ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated (ATM)/ATM- and Rad3-related (ATR), indicating that ATM and ATR signaling pathways may be not involved in CUR-mediated S and G2/M phase arrest in HCT116 cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that CUR caused mitosis arrest in HCT116 cells by using mitotic protein monoclonal antibody-2 as a mitosis marker and the surface plasmon resonance assay. The findings provide new mechanisms of cell proliferation inhibition triggered by CUR in HCT116 cells.

Study Information

Lu JJ, Cai YJ, Ding J.
Curcumin induces DNA damage and caffeine-insensitive cell cycle arrest in colorectal carcinoma HCT116 cells.
Mol Cell Biochem.
2011 April
Division of Anti-Tumor Pharmacology, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Science, 555 Zu Chong Zhi Rd, Shanghai, 201203, People's Republic of China.