Mechanisms of apoptosis modulation by curcumin: Implications for cancer therapy

A novel alginate/gelatin sponge combined with curcumin-loaded electrospun fibers for postoperative rapid hemostasis and prevention of tumor recurrence

Surgical resection of the tumor remains the preferred treatment for most solid tumors at an early stage, but surgical treatment often leads to massive bleeding and residual tumor cells. Therefore, a novel alginate/gelatin sponge combined with curcumin-loaded electrospun fibers (CFAGS) for rapid hemostasis and prevention of tumor recurrence was prepared by using an electrospinning and interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) strategy. The present results show that alginate/gelatin sponge display excellent hemostatic properties and possess more advantages than commercial gelatin hemostasis sponge. More importantly, CFAGS could control the release of curcumin, inducing curcumin to accumulate at the surgical site of the tumor, thereby inhibiting local tumor recurrence in the subcutaneous postoperative recurrence model. In addition, the sponge was safe to implant in the body and did not cause toxicity to normal tissues and organs. This approach represents a new strategy to implant a dual functional sponge at the postoperative site as an adjuvant to the surgical treatment of cancer.

A novel selective mitochondrial-targeted curcumin analog with remarkable cytotoxicity in glioma cells

Naturally occurring polyphenol curcumin (4) or demethoxycurcumin (5) and their synthetic derivatives display promising anticancer activities. However, their further development is limited by low bioavailability and poor selectivity. Thus, a mitochondria-targeted compound 14 (DMC-TPP) was prepared in the present study by conjugating a triphenylphosphine moiety to the phenolic hydroxyl group of demethoxycurcumin to enhance its bioavailability and treatment efficacy. The in vitro biological experiments of DMC-TPP showed that it not only displayed higher cytotoxicity as compared with its parent compound 5, but also exhibited superior mitochondria accumulation ability. Glioma cells were more sensitive to DMC-TPP, which inhibited the proliferation of U251 cells with an IC₅₀ of 0.42 μM. The mechanism studies showed that DMC-TPP triggers mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, caused by caspase activation, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decrease of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). In addition, DMC-TPP efficiently inhibited cellular thioredoxin reductase, which contributed to its cytotoxicity. Significantly, DMC-TPP delayed tumor progression in a mouse xenograft model of human glioma cancer. Taken together, the potent in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of DMC-TPP warrant further comprehensive evaluation as a novel anti-glioma agent.

The radioprotective effects of alpha-lipoic acid on radiotherapy-induced toxicities: A systematic review

PURPOSE

Radiation therapy is one of the main cancer treatment modalities applied in 50-70% of cancer patients. Despite the many advantages of this treatment, such as non-invasiveness, organ-preservation, and spatiotemporal flexibility in tumor targeting, it can lead to complications in irradiated healthy cells/tissues. In this regard, the use of radio-protective agents can alleviate radiation-induced complications. This study aimed to review the potential role of alpha-lipoic acid in the prevention/reduction of radiation-induced toxicities on healthy cells/tissues.

METHODS

A systematic search was performed following PRISMA guidelines to identify relevant literature on the "role of alpha-lipoic acid in the treatment of radiotherapy-induced toxicity" in the electronic databases of Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus up to January 2021. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the present study, 278 articles were screened. Finally, 29 articles were included in this systematic review.

RESULTS

The obtained results showed that in experimental in vivo models, the radiation-treated groups had decreased survival rate and body weight compared to the control groups. It was also found that radiation can induce mild to severe toxicities on gastrointestinal, circulatory, reproductive, central nervous, respiratory, endocrine, exocrine systems, etc. However, the use of alpha-lipoic acid could alleviate the radiation-induced toxicities in most cases. This radio-protective agent exerts its effects through mechanisms of anti-oxidant, anti-apoptosis, anti-inflammatory, and so on.

CONCLUSION

According to the obtained results, it can be mentioned that co-treatment of alpha-lipoic acid with radiotherapy ameliorates the radiation-induced toxicities in healthy cells/tissues.

Resveratrol as an Adjuvant for Normal Tissues Protection and Tumor Sensitization

Cancer is one of the most complicated diseases in present-day medical science. Yearly, several studies suggest various strategies for preventing carcinogenesis. Furthermore, experiments for the treatment of cancer with low side effects are ongoing. Chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy are the most common non-invasive strategies for cancer treatment. One of the most challenging issues encountered with these modalities is low effectiveness, as well as normal tissue toxicity for chemo-radiation therapy. The use of some agents as adjuvants has been suggested to improve tumor responses and also alleviate normal tissue toxicity. Resveratrol, a natural flavonoid, has attracted a lot of attention for the management of both tumor and normal tissue responses to various modalities of cancer therapy. As an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, in vitro and in vivo studies show that it is able to mitigate chemo-radiation toxicity in normal tissues. However, clinical studies to confirm the usage of resveratrol as a chemo-radioprotector are lacking. In addition, it can sensitize various types of cancer cells to both chemotherapy drugs and radiation. In recent years, some clinical studies suggested that resveratrol may have an effect on inducing cancer cell killing. Yet, clinical translation of resveratrol has not yielded desirable results for the combination of resveratrol with radiotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy. In this paper, we review the potential role of resveratrol for preserving normal tissues and sensitization of cancer cells in combination with different cancer treatment modalities.

Therapeutic Effects of Curcumin against Bladder Cancer: A Review of Possible Molecular Pathways

There are concerns about the increased incidence of cancer both in developing and developed countries. In spite of recent progress in cancer therapy, this disease is still one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Consequently, there have been rigorous attempts to improve cancer therapy by looking at nature as a rich source of naturally occurring anti-tumor drugs. Curcumin is a well-known plant-derived polyphenol found in turmeric. This compound has numerous pharmacological effects such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and anti-tumor properties. Curcumin is capable of suppressing the growth of a variety of cancer cells including those of bladder cancer. Given the involvement of various signaling pathways such as PI3K, Akt, mTOR and VEGF in the progression and malignancy of bladder cancer, and considering the potential of curcumin in targeting signaling pathways, it seems that curcumin can be considered as a promising candidate in bladder cancer therapy. In the present review, we describe the molecular signaling pathways through which curcumin inhibits invasion and metastasis of bladder cancer cells.

Paving the Road Toward Exploiting the Therapeutic Effects of Ginsenosides: An Emphasis on Autophagy and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

Programmed cell death processes such as apoptosis and autophagy strongly contribute to the onset and progression of cancer. Along with these lines, modulation of cell death mechanisms to combat cancer cells and elimination of resistance to apoptosis is of great interest. It appears that modulation of autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress with specific agents would be beneficial in the treatment of several disorders. Interestingly, it has been suggested that herbal natural products may be suitable candidates for the modulation of these processes due to few side effects and significant therapeutic potential. Ginsenosides are derivatives of ginseng and exert modulatory effects on the molecular mechanisms associated with autophagy and ER stress. Ginsenosides act as smart phytochemicals that confer their effects by up-regulating ATG proteins and converting LC3-I to -II, which results in maturation of autophagosomes. Not only do ginsenosides promote autophagy but they also possess protective and therapeutic properties due to their capacity to modulate ER stress and up- and down-regulate and/or dephosphorylate UPR transducers such as IRE1, PERK, and ATF6. Thus, it would appear that ginsenosides are promising agents to potentially restore tissue malfunction and possibly eliminate cancer.

Curcumin Encapsulated in Crosslinked Cyclodextrin Nanoparticles Enables Immediate Inhibition of Cell Growth and Efficient Killing of Cancer Cells

The efficiency of anti-cancer drugs is commonly determined by endpoint assays after extended incubation times, often after days. Here we demonstrate that curcumin encapsulated in crosslinked cyclodextrin nanoparticles (CD-NP) acts extremely rapidly on cell metabolism resulting in an immediate and complete inhibition of cell growth and in efficient cancer-cell killing only few hours after incubation. This early onset of anti-cancer action was discovered by live-cell high-throughput fluorescence microscopy using an environmental stage. To date, only very few examples of covalently crosslinked nanoscale CD-based (CD-NP) drug carriers exist. Crosslinking cyclodextrins enables the adsorption of unusually high payloads of hydrophobic curcumin (762 µg CC/mg CD-NP) reflecting a molar ratio of 2.3:1 curcumin to cyclodextrin. We have investigated the effect of CD-NP encapsulated curcumin (CD-CC-NP) in comparison to free, DMSO-derived curcumin nanoparticles (CC-NP) on 4 different cell lines. Very short incubations times as low as 1 h were applied and cell responses after medium change were subsequently followed over two days. We show that cell proliferation is inhibited nearly immediately in all cell lines and that a cell- and concentration dependent cancer-cell killing occurs. Anti-cancer effects were similar with free and encapsulated curcumin, however, encapsulation in CD-NP drastically extends the long-term photostability and anti-cancer activity of curcumin. Curcumin-sensitivity is highest in HeLa cells reaching up to 90% cell death under these conditions. Sensitivity decreased from HeLa to T24 to MDA MB-231 cells. Strikingly, the immortalized non-cancerous cell line MCF-10A was robust against curcumin concentrations that were highly toxic to the other cell lines. Our results underline the potential of curcumin as gentle and yet effective natural anti-cancer agent when delivered solvent-free in stabilizing and biocompatible drug carriers such as CD-NP that enable efficient cellular delivery.

Anti-tumor activity of resveratrol against gastric cancer: a review of recent advances with an emphasis on molecular pathways

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common cancers with high malignancy. In spite of the great development in diagnostic tools and application of anti-tumor drugs, we have not witnessed a significant increase in the survival time of patients with GC. Multiple studies have revealed that Wnt, Nrf2, MAPK, and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways are involved in GC invasion. Besides, long non-coding RNAs and microRNAs function as upstream mediators in GC malignancy. GC cells have acquired resistance to currently applied anti-tumor drugs. Besides, combination therapy is associated with higher anti-tumor activity. Resveratrol (Res) is a non-flavonoid polyphenol with high anti-tumor activity used in treatment of various cancers. A number of studies have demonstrated the potential of Res in regulation of molecular pathways involved in cancer malignancy. At the present review, we show that Res targets a variety of signaling pathways to induce apoptotic cell death and simultaneously, to inhibit the migration and metastasis of GC cells.

Curcumin suppresses cell growth and attenuates fluoride-mediated Caspase-3 activation in ameloblast-like LS8 cells

The trace element fluoride can be beneficial for oral health by preventing dental caries. However, fluoride is also known as an environmental pollutant. Fluoride pollution can lead to fluoride over-ingestion and can cause health issues, including dental fluorosis. Curcumin attenuated fluoride-induced toxicity in animal models, however the molecular mechanisms of how curcumin affects fluoride toxicity remain to be elucidated. We hypothesized that curcumin attenuates fluoride toxicity through modulation of Ac-p53. Here we investigated how curcumin affects the p53-p21 pathway in fluoride toxicity. LS8 cells were treated with NaF with/without curcumin. Curcumin significantly increased phosphorylation of Akt [Thr308] and attenuated fluoride-mediated caspase-3 cleavage and DNA damage marker γH2AX expression. Curcumin-mediated attenuation of caspase-3 activation was reversed by Akt inhibitor LY294002 (LY). However, LY did not alter curcumin-mediated γH2AX suppression. These results suggest that curcumin inhibited fluoride-mediated apoptosis via Akt activation, but DNA damage was suppressed by other pathways. Curcumin did not suppress/alter fluoride-mediated Ac-p53. However, curcumin itself significantly increased Ac-p53 and upregulated p21 protein levels to suppress cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Curcumin suppressed fluoride-induced phosphorylation of p21 and increased p21 levels within the nuclear fraction. However, curcumin did not reverse fluoride-mediated cell growth inhibition. These results suggest that curcumin-induced Ac-p53 and p21 led to cell cycle arrest, while curcumin attenuated fluoride-mediated apoptosis via activation of Akt and suppressed fluoride-mediated DNA damage. By inhibiting DNA damage and apoptosis, curcumin may potentially alleviate health issues caused by fluoride pollution. Further studies are required to better understand the mechanism of curcumin-induced biological effects on fluoride toxicity.

A regularized functional regression model enabling transcriptome-wide dosage-dependent association study of cancer drug response

Cancer treatments can be highly toxic and frequently only a subset of the patient population will benefit from a given treatment. Tumour genetic makeup plays an important role in cancer drug sensitivity. We suspect that gene expression markers could be used as a decision aid for treatment selection or dosage tuning. Using in vitro cancer cell line dose-response and gene expression data from the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) project, we build a dose-varying regression model. Unlike existing approaches, this allows us to estimate dosage-dependent associations with gene expression. We include the transcriptomic profiles as dose-invariant covariates into the regression model and assume that their effect varies smoothly over the dosage levels. A two-stage variable selection algorithm (variable screening followed by penalized regression) is used to identify genetic factors that are associated with drug response over the varying dosages. We evaluate the effectiveness of our method using simulation studies focusing on the choice of tuning parameters and cross-validation for predictive accuracy assessment. We further apply the model to data from five BRAF targeted compounds applied to different cancer cell lines under different dosage levels. We highlight the dosage-dependent dynamics of the associations between the selected genes and drug response, and we perform pathway enrichment analysis to show that the selected genes play an important role in pathways related to tumorigenesis and DNA damage response.

Flavonoid compound breviscapine suppresses human osteosarcoma Saos-2 progression property and induces apoptosis by regulating mitochondria-dependent pathway

This study was aimed to investigate the ability of a flavonoid compound breviscapine (BVP) to suppress growth and elicit apoptosis in human osteosarcoma (OS) Saos-2 cells. The cells were cultured in vitro and treated with three concentrations of BVP (80, 160, and 320 μg/ml). Moreover, C57 mice were injected with Saos-2 cells to establish a subcutaneous xenograft model, and they were subsequently treated with three doses of BVP via intraperitoneal injection. The viability of the cells was examined by the Cell Counting Kit-8 method. The apoptotic cells were assessed by flow cytometry and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling staining. The tumor volume and weight were monitored from day 3 through day 21 after the last injection. The expression of bax, bcl-2, and cytochrome c (cyt c) mRNA was detected by a real-time polymerase chain reaction. The protein levels of bax, bcl-2, cyt c, caspase 3, and caspase 9 were evaluated by Western blot. The expression and distribution of bcl-2 and bax in tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry. Compared with the control group, BVP treatment inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis of Saos-2 cells in vitro. Consistently, treatment of mice bearing transplanted tumors with BVP suppressed the growth of OS tumors and promoted cell apoptosis; it also reduced tumor volume and weight. Mechanistically, BVP-induced apoptosis was mediated by the mitochondria-dependent pathway, as evidenced by the increased expression of bax and cyt c and the decreased expression of bcl-2, as well as activation of caspase 9 and caspase 3 in vitro and in vitro. Collectively, BVP inhibits growth and promotes apoptosis of OS by activating the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.

Toward Regulatory Effects of Curcumin on Transforming Growth Factor-Beta Across Different Diseases: A Review

Immune response, proliferation, migration and angiogenesis are juts a few of cellular events that are regulated by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) in cells. A number of studies have documented that TGF-β undergoes abnormal expression in different diseases, e.g., diabetes, cancer, fibrosis, asthma, arthritis, among others. This has led to great fascination into this signaling pathway and developing agents with modulatory impact on TGF-β. Curcumin, a natural-based compound, is obtained from rhizome and roots of turmeric plant. It has a number of pharmacological activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-diabetes and so on. Noteworthy, it has been demonstrated that curcumin affects different molecular signaling pathways such as Wnt/β-catenin, Nrf2, AMPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase and so on. In the present review, we evaluate the potential of curcumin in regulation of TGF-β signaling pathway to corelate it with therapeutic impacts of curcumin. By modulation of TGF-β (both upregulation and down-regulation), curcumin ameliorates fibrosis, neurological disorders, liver disease, diabetes and asthma. Besides, curcumin targets TGF-β signaling pathway which is capable of suppressing proliferation of tumor cells and invading cancer cells.

Toxicity Reduction and Efficacy Promotion of Doxorubicin in the Treatment of Breast Tumors Assisted by Enhanced Oral Absorption of Curcumin-Loaded Lipid-Polyester Mixed Nanoparticles

Curcumin (CUR), a polyphenol derived from turmeric, exhibits anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties. However, it has poor water solubility, stability, and oral bioavailability. To overcome these limitations, lipid-polyester mixed nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in enteric polymer-EudragitL100-55(Eu) were formulated (CUR-NPs-Eu). NPs composed of mPEG-b-PCL have a hybrid core made up of middle chain triglyceride (MCT) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) for enhancing drug loading. The CUR-NPs with MCT content of 10% had a particle size of 121.2 ± 16.8 nm, ζ potential of -16.25 ± 1.38 mV, drug loading of 9.8%, and encapsulation efficiency of 87.4%. The transport of the CUR-NPs-Eu across Caco-2 monolayers is enhanced compared with CUR alone (1.98 ± 0.94 × 10-6 of curcumin versus 55.43 ± 6.06 × 10-6 cm/s of curcumin-loaded NPs) because of the non-disassociated nanostructure during absorption. The absolute bioavailability of CUR-NPs-Eu was 7.14%, which was drastically improved from 1.08% of the CUR suspension (CUR-Sus). Therefore, in the xenograft 4T1 tumor-bearing mice, increased drug accumulation in heart and tumor was noticed because of enhanced oral bioavailability of CUR. The chemosensitizing effect of CUR was attributed to its NF-κB reduction effect (148 ± 11.83 of DOX alone versus 104 ± 8.71 of combined therapy, ng/g tissue). The cardioprotective effect of CUR was associated with maintenance of cardiac antioxidant enzyme activity and down-regulation of NF-κB. This study provided a partial illustration of the mechanisms of chemosensitizing and cardioprotective effects of CUR utilizing the oral availability promotion effect brought by the NPs-Eu formulation. And these results further demonstrated that the capability of this NPs-Eu system in oral delivery of poorly soluble and poorly permeable drugs.

Making radiation therapy more effective in the era of precision medicine

Cancer has become a leading cause of death and constitutes an enormous burden worldwide. Radiation is a principle treatment modality used alone or in combination with other forms of therapy, with 50%–70% of cancer patients receiving radiotherapy at some point during their illness. It has been suggested that traditional radiotherapy (daily fractions of approximately 1.8–2 Gy over several weeks) might select for radioresistant tumor cell sub-populations, which, if not sterilized, give rise to local treatment failure and distant metastases. Thus, the challenge is to develop treatment strategies and schedules to eradicate the resistant subpopulation of tumorigenic cells rather than the predominant sensitive tumor cell population. With continued technological advances including enhanced conformal treatment technology, radiation oncologists can increasingly maximize the dose to tumors while sparing adjacent normal tissues, to limit toxicity and damage to the latter. Increased dose conformality also facilitates changes in treatment schedules, such as changes in dose per treatment fraction and number of treatment fractions, to enhance the therapeutic ratio. For example, the recently developed large dose per fraction treatment schedules (hypofractionation) have shown clinical advantage over conventional treatment schedules in some tumor types. Experimental studies suggest that following large acute doses of radiation, recurrent tumors, presumably sustained by the most resistant tumor cell populations, may in fact be equally or more radiation sensitive than the primary tumor. In this review, we summarize the related advances in radiotherapy, including the increasing understanding of the molecular mechanisms of radioresistance, and the targeting of these mechanisms with potent small molecule inhibitors, which may selectively sensitize tumor cells to radiation.

Venom peptides in cancer therapy: An updated review on cellular and molecular aspects

Based on the high incidence and mortality rates of cancer, its therapy remains one of the most vital challenges in the field of medicine. Consequently, enhancing the efficacy of currently applied treatments and finding novel strategies are of great importance for cancer treatment. Venoms are important sources of a variety of bioactive compounds including salts, small molecules, macromolecules, proteins, and peptides that are defined as toxins. They can exhibit different pharmacological effects, and in recent years, their anti-tumor activities have gained significant attention. Several different compounds are responsible for the anti-tumor activity of venoms, and peptides are one of them. In the present review, we discuss the possible anti-tumor activities of venom peptides by highlighting molecular pathways and mechanisms through which these molecules can act effectively. Venom peptides can induce cell death in cancer cells and can substantially enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Also, the venom peptides can mitigate the migration of cancer cells via suppression of angiogenesis and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Notably, nanoparticles have been applied in enhancing the bioavailability of venom peptides and providing targeted delivery, thereby leading to their elevated anti-tumor activity and potential application for cancer therapy.

Apigenin as Tumor Suppressor in Cancers: Biotherapeutic Activity, Nanodelivery, and Mechanisms With Emphasis on Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is the most lethal malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract. Due to its propensity for early local and distant spread, affected patients possess extremely poor prognosis. Currently applied treatments are not effective enough to eradicate all cancer cells, and minimize their migration. Besides, these treatments are associated with adverse effects on normal cells and organs. These therapies are not able to increase the overall survival rate of patients; hence, finding novel adjuvants or alternatives is so essential. Up to now, medicinal herbs were utilized for therapeutic goals. Herbal-based medicine, as traditional biotherapeutics, were employed for cancer treatment. Of them, apigenin, as a bioactive flavonoid that possesses numerous biological properties (e.g., anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects), has shown substantial anticancer activity. It seems that apigenin is capable of suppressing the proliferation of cancer cells via the induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Besides, apigenin inhibits metastasis via down-regulation of matrix metalloproteinases and the Akt signaling pathway. In pancreatic cancer cells, apigenin sensitizes cells in chemotherapy, and affects molecular pathways such as the hypoxia inducible factor (HIF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1). Herein, the biotherapeutic activity of apigenin and its mechanisms toward cancer cells are presented in the current review to shed some light on anti-tumor activity of apigenin in different cancers, with an emphasis on pancreatic cancer.

Hint1 Overexpression Inhibits the Cell Cycle and Induces Cell Apoptosis in Human Osteosarcoma Cells

Background

New evidence suggests that histidine triad nucleotide-binding protein 1 (Hint1) exerts a tumor suppressor effect in various human tumors, such as colorectal cancer and gastric cancer. However, it has not been reported whether Hint1 is involved in the occurrence and development of osteosarcoma (OS).

Materials and Methods

The present study investigated the role of Hint1 in human OS cells by using cell lines, including 143B, U2OS, KHOS-240S, Saos-2 and MG-63. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry.

Results

The present result revealed that Hint1 is downregulated in these cell lines. The overexpression of Hint1 by adenovirus transfection in 143B and MG63 cell lines suppressed the proliferation and cell cycle, and increased the cell apoptosis. Mechanically, it was found that Hint1 downregulated the cyclin D1 expression via FOXO1 inhibition. Furthermore, FOXO1 overexpression in the 143B and MG63 cell lines significantly blurred the effects of Hint1 on cellular proliferation and apoptosis.

Conclusion

The present study indicates that Hint1 inhibits the development of OS by regulating FoxO1-cyclin D1, suggesting that Hint1 may be a new method for the treatment of OS.

Nanomicellar-curcumin exerts its therapeutic effects via affecting angiogenesis, apoptosis, and T cells in a mouse model of melanoma lung metastasis

BACKGROUND

Curcumin is a natural phytochemical polyphenol with significant anti-cancer effects and negligible side effects. In this study, the therapeutic capacity of nanomicellar-curcumin for treating lung metastasis was evaluated in an immunocompetent mouse model of metastatic melanoma.

MARTIALS AND METHODS

Two doses of nanomicellar-curcumin (i.e. 10 and 20 μM) were used to induce cytotoxicity in 3 melanoma cell lines. A total of 60 mice were allocated to 20 mice in each of three groups (10 for survival and 10 for assays). Groups were no treatment control, PBS control, nanomicellar-curcumin 20 mg/kg IP 4 times a week, for three weeks). Immunohistochemistry, TUNEL assay, and Western blots were used on lung samples.

RESULTS

Nanomicellar-curcumin inhibited the in vitro growth of B16 F10 melanoma cells at 20 μM over 72 h. In vivo, 20 mg/kg nanomicellar-curcumin injected IP, delayed tumor cell growth and significantly extended mouse survival rate. Tumor infiltration of regulatory T cells and angiogenesis were reduced, while IFN-γ and CXCL10 were increased.

CONCLUSION

Nanomicellar-curcumin can inhibit lung metastasis and growing melanoma via activation of apoptosis, activated T cells and inhibition of angiogenesis, tumor growth and regulatory T cells.

Modulation of Apoptosis by Plant Polysaccharides for Exerting Anti-Cancer Effects: A Review

Cancer has become a significant public health problem with high disease burden and mortality. At present, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the main means of treating cancer, but they have shown serious safety problems. The severity of this problem has caused further attention and research on effective and safe cancer treatment methods. Polysaccharides are natural products with anti-cancer activity that are widely present in a lot of plants, and many studies have found that inducing apoptosis of cancer cells is one of their important mechanisms. Therefore, this article reviews the various ways in which plant polysaccharides promote apoptosis of cancer cells. The major apoptotic pathways involved include the mitochondrial pathway, the death receptor pathway, and their upstream signal transduction such as MAPK pathway, PI3K/AKT pathway, and NF-κB pathway. Moreover, the paper has also been focused on the absorption and toxicity of plant polysaccharides with reference to extant literature, making the research more scientific and comprehensive. It is hoped that this review could provide some directions for the future development of plant polysaccharides as anticancer drugs in pharmacological experiments and clinical researches.

Natural products and phytochemical nanoformulations targeting mitochondria in oncotherapy: an updated review on resveratrol

Mitochondria are intracellular organelles with two distinct membranes, known as an outer mitochondrial membrane and inner cell membrane. Originally, mitochondria have been derived from bacteria. The main function of mitochondria is the production of ATP. However, this important organelle indirectly protects cells by consuming oxygen in the route of energy generation. It has been found that mitochondria are actively involved in the induction of the intrinsic pathways of apoptosis. So, there have been efforts to sustain mitochondrial homeostasis and inhibit its dysfunction. Notably, due to the potential role of mitochondria in the stimulation of apoptosis, this organelle is a promising target in cancer therapy. Resveratrol is a non-flavonoid polyphenol that exhibits significant pharmacological effects such as antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor. The anti-tumor activity of resveratrol may be a consequence of its effect on mitochondria. Multiple studies have investigated the relationship between resveratrol and mitochondria, and it has been demonstrated that resveratrol is able to significantly enhance the concentration of reactive oxygen species, leading to the mitochondrial dysfunction and consequently, apoptosis induction. A number of signaling pathways such as sirtuin and NF-κB may contribute to the mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis by resveratrol. Besides, resveratrol shifts cellular metabolism from glycolysis into mitochondrial respiration to induce cellular death in cancer cells. In the present review, we discuss the possible interactions between resveratrol and mitochondria, and its potential application in cancer therapy.

A novel silicone derivative of natural osalmid (DCZ0858) induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma via the JAK2/STAT3 pathway

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a highly heterogeneous malignant tumor characterized by diffuse growth. DCZ0858 is a novel small molecule with excellent antitumor effects in DLBCL. This study explored in depth the inhibitory effect of DCZ0858 on DLBCL cell lines. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and plate colony formation assays were used to evaluate cell proliferation levels. Flow cytometry was employed to analyze apoptosis and the cell cycle, and western blotting was used to quantify the expression of cell cycle regulators. The results indicated that DCZ0858 inhibited cell growth in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner while inducing no significant toxicity in normal cells. Moreover, DCZ0858 initiated cell apoptosis via both internal and external apoptotic pathways. DCZ0858 also induced cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase, thereby controlling cell proliferation. Further investigation of the molecular mechanism showed that the JAK2/STAT3 pathway was involved in the DCZ0858-mediated antitumor effects and that JAK2 was the key target for DCZ0858 treatment. Knockdown of JAK2 partly weakened the DCZ0858-mediated antitumor effect in DLBCL cells, while JAK2 overexpression strengthened the effect of DCZ0858 in DLBCL cells. Moreover, a similar antitumor effect was observed for DCZ0858 and the JAK2 inhibitor ruxolitinib, and combining the two could significantly enhance cancer-suppressive signaling. Tumor xenograft models showed that DCZ0858 inhibited tumor growth in vivo and had low toxicity in important organs, findings that were consistent with the in vitro data. In summary, DCZ0858 is a promising drug for the treatment of DLBCL.

Potential therapeutic effects of curcumin mediated by JAK/STAT signaling pathway: A review

Curcumin is a naturally occurring nutraceutical compound with a number of therapeutic and biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, antitumor, and cardioprotective. This plant-derived chemical has demonstrated great potential in targeting various signaling pathways to exert its protective effects. Signal transducers and activator of transcription (STAT) is one of the molecular pathways involved in a variety of biological processes such as cell proliferation and cell apoptosis. Accumulating data demonstrates that the STAT pathway is an important target in treatment of a number of disorders, particularly cancer. Curcumin is capable of affecting STAT signaling pathway in induction of its therapeutic impacts. Curcumin is able to enhance the level of anti-inflammatory cytokines and improve inflammatory disorders such as colitis by targeting STAT signaling pathway. Furthermore, studies show that inhibition of JAK/STAT pathway by curcumin is involved in reduced migration and invasion of cancer cells. Curcumin normalizes the expression of JAK/STAT signaling pathway to exert anti-diabetic, renoprotective, and neuroprotective impacts. At the present review, we provide a comprehensive discussion about the effect of curcumin on JAK/STAT signaling pathway to direct further studies in this field.

The roles of curcumin in regulating the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment

Cancer is a harmful threat to human health. In addition to surgery, a variety of anticancer drugs are increasingly used in cancer therapy; however, despite the developments in multimodality treatment, the morbidity and mortality of patients with cancer patients are on the increase. The tumor-specific immunosuppressive microenvironment serves an important function in tumor tolerance and escape from immune surveillance leading to tumor progression. Therefore, identifying new drugs or foods that can enhance the tumor immune response is critical to develop improved cancer prevention methods and treatment. Curcumin, a polyphenolic compound extracted from ginger, has been shown to effectively inhibit tumor growth, proliferation, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis in a variety of tumors. Recent studies have also indicated that curcumin can modulate the tumor immune response and remodel the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment, indicating its potential in the immunotherapy of cancer. In this review, a brief introduction to the effects of curcumin on the tumor immune response and tumor immune microenvironment is provided and recent clinical trials investigating the potential of curcumin in cancer therapy are discussed.

Curcumin- and Piperine-Loaded Emulsomes as Combinational Treatment Approach Enhance the Anticancer Activity of Curcumin on HCT116 Colorectal Cancer Model

Combination chemotherapy, administrating two chemotherapeutic agents concurrently, comes into prominence, as the heterogeneity or the level of the disease necessitates a collaborative action. Curcumin, isolated from turmeric, and piperine, isolated from black long pepper, are two dietary polyphenols studied for their intrinsic anti-cancer properties against various cancer types including colorectal cancer (CRC). Furthermore, piperine improves the therapeutic effect of curcumin. Addressing this mutual behavior, this study combines curcumin and piperine within emulsome nanoformulations. Curcumin- (CurcuEmulsomes) and piperine-loaded emulsomes (PiperineEmulsomes) have established a uniform, stable, spherical dispersion with average diameters of 184.21 and 248.76 nm, respectively. The solid tripalmitin inner core achieved encapsulation capacities of up to 0.10 mg/ml curcumin and 0.09 mg/ml piperine content. While piperine treatment alone - in its both free and emulsome forms - showed no inhibition in the proliferation of HCT116 cells in vitro, its presence as the second drug agent enhanced curcumin's effect. Combination of 7 μM PiperineEmulsome and 25 μM CurcuEmulsome concentrations was found to be most effective with an inhibition of cell proliferation of about 50% viability. Cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase and induced apoptosis verified the improved anti-cancer characteristics of the therapy. While CurcuEmulsomes achieved a fourfold increase in Caspase 3 level, combination of treatment with PiperineEulsomes achieved a sixfold increase in the level of this apoptotic marker. Combinational treatment of HCT116 cells with CurcuEmulsomes and PiperineEmulsomes improved the anticancer activity of the compounds and highlighted the potential of the approach for further in vivo studies.

The functions and targets of miR-212 as a potential biomarker of cancer diagnosis and therapy

Cancer is a major health problem worldwide. An increasing number of researchers are studying the diagnosis, therapy and mechanisms underlying the development and progression of cancer. The study of noncoding RNA has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. It was found that frequent alterations of miRNA expression not only have various functions in cancer but also that miRNAs can act as clinical markers of diagnosis, stage and progression of cancer. MiR-212 is an important example of miRNAs involved in cancer. According to recent studies, miR-212 may serve as an oncogene or tumour suppressor by influencing different targets or pathways during the oncogenesis and the development and metastasis of cancer. Its deregulation may serve as a marker for the diagnosis or prognosis of cancer. In addition, it was recently reported that miR-212 was related to the sensitivity or resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Here, we summarize the current understanding of miR-212 functions in cancer by describing the relevant signalling pathways and targets. The role of miR-212 as a biomarker and its therapeutic potential in cancer is also described. The aim of this review was to identify new methods for the diagnosis and treatment of human cancers.

Anti-Tumor Effects of Osthole on Different Malignant Tissues: A Review of Molecular Mechanisms

Cancer management and/or treatment require a comprehensive understanding of the molecular and signaling pathways involved. Recently, much attention has been directed to these molecular and signaling pathways, and it has been suggested that a number of biomolecules/players involved in such pathways, such as PI3K/Akt, NF-kB, STAT, and Nrf2 contribute to the progression, invasion, proliferation, and metastasis of malignant cells. Synthetic anti-tumor agents and chemotherapeutic drugs have been a mainstay in cancer therapy and are widely used to suppress the progression and, hopefully, halt the proliferation of malignant cells. However, these agents have some undesirable side-effects and, therefore, naturally-occurring compounds with high potency and fewer side-effects are now of great interest. Osthole is a plant-derived chemical compound that can inhibit the proliferation of malignant cells and provide potent anti-cancer effects in various tissues. Therefore, in this review, we presented the main findings concerning the potential anti-tumor effects of osthole and its derivatives and described possible molecular mechanisms by which osthole may suppress malignant cell proliferation in different tissues.

Therapeutic effects of kaempferol affecting autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum stress

Regulated cell death (RCD) guarantees to preserve organismal homeostasis. Apoptosis and autophagy are two major arms of RCD, while endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as a crucial organelle involved in proteostasis, promotes cells toward autophagy and apoptosis. Alteration in ER stress and autophagy machinery is responsible for a great number of diseases. Therefore, targeting those pathways appears to be beneficial in the treatment of relevant diseases. Meantime, among the traditional herb medicine, kaempferol as a flavonoid seems to be promising to modulate ER stress and autophagy and exhibits protective effects on malfunctioning cells. There are some reports indicating the capability of kaempferol in affecting autophagy and ER stress. In brief, kaempferol modulates autophagy in noncancerous cells to protect cells against malfunction, while it induces cell mortality derived from autophagy through the elevation of p-AMP-activated protein kinase, light chain-3-II, autophagy-related geness, and Beclin-1 in cancer cells. Noteworthy, kaempferol enhances cell survival through C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) suppression and GRP78 increment in noncancerous cells, while it enhances cell mortality through the induction of unfolding protein response and CHOP increment in cancer cells. In this review, we discuss how kaempferol modulates autophagy and ER stress in noncancer and cancer cells to expand our knowledge of new pharmacological compounds for the treatment of associated diseases.

Oncogenic pathways and the electron transport chain: a dangeROS liaison

Driver mutations in oncogenic pathways, rewiring of cellular metabolism and altered ROS homoeostasis are intimately connected hallmarks of cancer. Electrons derived from different metabolic processes are channelled into the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) to fuel the oxidative phosphorylation process. Electrons leaking from the ETC can prematurely react with oxygen, resulting in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Several signalling pathways are affected by ROS, which act as second messengers controlling cell proliferation and survival. On the other hand, oncogenic pathways hijack the ETC, enhancing its ROS-producing capacity by increasing electron flow or by impinging on the structure and organisation of the ETC. In this review, we focus on the ETC as a source of ROS and its modulation by oncogenic pathways, which generates a vicious cycle that resets ROS levels to a higher homoeostatic set point, sustaining the cancer cell phenotype.

Evaluation of Intestinal Absorption Mechanism and Pharmacokinetics of Curcumin-Loaded Galactosylated Albumin Nanoparticles

Background

Most of the oral drugs have the properties of weak intestinal absorption and low bioavailability, which leads to little treatment to diseases. By nanotechnology, these drugs can be efficiently delivered to pass biological barriers and promote the cell uptake ability for the enhancement of the oral bioavailability.

Methods

The present work chose the prepared curcumin-loaded galactosylated albumin nanoparticles (Gal-BSA NPs) as the nano-drug samples to study the intestinal capacity and the oral bioavailability.

Results

The cell uptake assay showed that the Gal-BSA NPs could promote the internalization of more curcumin into the Caco-2 cells. Moreover, the cell uptake mechanism of Gal-BSA-Cur NPs depended on the clathrin-mediated endocytosis transport. The intestinal permeation assay using one Ussing chamber exhibited that the absorptive amounts of curcumin in Gal-BSA-Cur NPs group were 1.5-fold of pure curcumin group. Meanwhile, the permeation mechanism of Gal-BSA-Cur NPs across the intestine mainly depended on the passive transport. The pharmacokinetics study in vivo suggested that the oral bioavailability of Gal-BSA-Cur NPs was improved by 1.4-fold compared with pure curcumin.

Conclusion

All results demonstrated that Gal-BSA NPs could improve the intestinal absorption capacity and oral bioavailability of curcumin through the double absorption mechanisms of the clathrin-mediated endocytosis and the passive transport.

Curcumin enhances cisplatin-induced human laryngeal squamous cancer cell death through activation of TRPM2 channel and mitochondrial oxidative stress

In this study, laryngeal tumor cells were killed through the production of excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) and Ca²⁺ influx by cisplatin (CISP). Nevertheless, a resistance was determined against CISP treatment in the tumor cells. We have investigated the stimulating role of curcumin (CURC) on CISP-induced human laryngeal squamous cancer (Hep2) cell death through TRPM2 channel activation, and its protective role against the adverse effects of CISP in normal kidney (MPK) cells. Hep2 and MPK cells were divided into four groups as control group, CURC group (10μM for 24 hrs), CISP group (25 μM for 24 hrs), and CURC + CISP combination group. CISP-induced decrease of cell viability, cell count, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione level in Hep2 cells were further increased by CURC treatment, but the CISP-induced normal MPK cell death was reduced by the treatment. CISP-induced increase of apoptosis, Ca²⁺ fluorescence intensity, TRPM2 expression and current densities through the increase of lipid peroxidation, intracellular and mitochondrial oxidative stress were stimulated by CURC treatment. In conclusion, CISP-induced increases in mitochondrial ROS and cell death levels in Hep2 cells were further enhanced through the increase of TRPM2 activation with the effect of CURC treatment. CISP-induced drug resistance in Hep2 cells might be reduced by CURC treatment.

Increased oxidative stress, inflammation, and glutamate: Potential preventive and therapeutic targets for hearing disorders

Hearing disorders constitute one of the major health concerns in the USA. Decades of basic and clinical studies have identified numerous ototoxic agents and investigated their modes of action on the inner ear, utilizing tissue culture as well as animal and human models. Current preventive and therapeutic approaches are considered unsatisfactory. Therefore, additional modalities should be developed. Many studies suggest that increased levels of oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and glutamate play an important role in the initiation and progression of damage to the inner ear leading to hearing impairments. To prevent these cellular deficits, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, and antagonists of glutamate receptor have been used individually or in combination with limited success. It is essential, therefore, to simultaneously enhance the levels of antioxidant enzymes by activating the Nrf2 (a nuclear transcriptional factor) pathway, dietary and endogenous antioxidant compounds, and B12-vitamins in order to reduce the levels of oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and glutamate at the same time. This review presents evidence to show that increased levels of these cellular metabolites, biochemical or factors are involved in the pathogenesis of cochlea leading to hearing impairments. It presents scientific rationale for the use of a mixture of micronutrients that may decrease the levels of oxidative damage, chronic inflammation, and glutamate at the same time. The benefits for using oral administration of proposed micronutrient mixture in humans are presented. Animal and limited human studies indirectly suggest that orally administered micronutrients can accumulate in the inner ear. Therefore, this route of administration may be useful in prevention, and in combination with standard care, in improved management of hearing problems following exposure to well-recognized and studied ototoxic agents, such as noise, cisplatin, aminoglycoside antibiotics, and advanced age.

Curcumin Nicotinate Selectively Induces Cancer Cell Apoptosis and Cycle Arrest through a P53-Mediated Mechanism

Curcumin is an anticancer agent, but adverse effects and low bioavailability are its main drawbacks, which drives efforts in chemical modifications of curcumin. This study evaluated antiproliferative activity and cancer cell selectivity of a curcumin derivative, curcumin nicotinate (CN), in which two niacin molecules were introduced. Our data showed that CN effectively inhibited proliferation and clonogenic growth of colon (HCT116), breast (MCF-7) and nasopharyngeal (CNE2, 5-8F and 6-10B) cancer cells with IC50 at 27.7 μM, 73.4 μM, 64.7 μM, 46.3 μM, and 31.2 μM, respectively. In cancer cells, CN induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase through a p53-mediated mechanism, where p53 was activated, p21 and pro-apoptotic proteins Bid and Bak were upregulated, and PARP was cleaved. In non-transformed human mammary epithelial cells MCF10A, CN at 50 µM had no cytotoxicity and p53 was not activated, but curcumin at 12.5 µM activated p53 and p21 and inhibited MCF10A cell growth. These data suggest that CN inhibits cell growth and proliferation through p53-mediated apoptosis and cell cycle arrest with cancer cell selectivity.

Potential of Curcumin in Skin Disorders

Curcumin is a compound isolated from turmeric, a plant known for its medicinal use. Recently, there is a growing interest in the medical community in identifying novel, low-cost, safe molecules that may be used in the treatment of inflammatory and neoplastic diseases. An increasing amount of evidence suggests that curcumin may represent an effective agent in the treatment of several skin conditions. We examined the most relevant in vitro and in vivo studies published to date regarding the use of curcumin in inflammatory, neoplastic, and infectious skin diseases, providing information on its bioavailability and safety profile. Moreover, we performed a computational analysis about curcumin's interaction towards the major enzymatic targets identified in the literature. Our results suggest that curcumin may represent a low-cost, well-tolerated, effective agent in the treatment of skin diseases. However, bypass of limitations of its in vivo use (low oral bioavailability, metabolism) is essential in order to conduct larger clinical trials that could confirm these observations. The possible use of curcumin in combination with traditional drugs and the formulations of novel delivery systems represent a very promising field for future applicative research.

Scale-Up Synthesis and In Vivo Anti-Tumor Activity of Curcumin Diethyl Disuccinate, an Ester Prodrug of Curcumin, in HepG2-Xenograft Mice

Previously, we synthesized curcumin and a succinate ester prodrug of curcumin namely curcumin diethyl disuccinate (CurDD) in the lab scale, which yielded hundred milligrams to few grams of the compounds. CurDD was found to be more stable in a phosphate buffer pH 7.4 and exhibited better cytotoxicity against Caco-2 cells than curcumin. Here, the one-pot syntheses of curcumin and CurDD were scaled up to afford multigram quantities of both compounds for preclinical studies using a 10-L chemical reactor. The key steps for the synthesis of curcumin were the formation of boron-acetylacetone complex and the decomplexation of boron-curcumin complex. The synthesis of CurDD could be achieved via a one-step esterification between curcumin and succinic acid monoethyl ester chloride using 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)pyridine as a catalyst. The synthesized curcumin and CurDD were then investigated and compared for an anti-tumor activity in HepG2-xenograft mice. CurDD could reduce the tumor growth in HepG2-xenograft mice better than curcumin. CurDD also exerted the stronger inhibition on VEGF secretion, COX-2 and Bcl-2 expression and induced higher Bax expression in comparison with curcumin. The results suggest that CurDD is a promising prodrug of curcumin and has a potential to be further developed as a therapeutic agent or an adjuvant for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Ruthenium(II) Complexes as Potential Apoptosis Inducers in Cancer Therapy

The compound cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (cisplatin) is the most widely used anticancer drug, but due to its serious side effects (including gastrointestinal symptoms, renal tubular injury, neuromuscular complications, and ototoxicity), clinical applications of cisplatin are limited. Therefore, these limitations have provided an encouragement for further research into other transition metal complexes, with an aim to overcome the disadvantages related with cisplatin therapy. In the search for effective complexes that can be targeted against tumor cells, many research groups synthesized various ruthenium( II) complexes with different ligands. Also, newly synthesized ruthenium(II) complexes showed selective anticancer activity against different types of cancer cells. Activity of ruthenium(II) complexes in some cases was even higher than that of cisplatin against the same cells. Precise mechanism of action of ruthenium(II) complexes is not fully understood. The different examples mentioned in this review showed that ruthenium(II) complexes decreased viability of cancer cells by induction of apoptosis and/or by cell cycle arrest which implies their different mechanism of action against different types of cancer cells.

Curcumin Combination Chemotherapy: The Implication and Efficacy in Cancer

Many chemotherapeutic drugs have been used for the treatment of cancer, for instance, doxorubicin, irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, and paclitaxel. However, the effectiveness of chemotherapy is limited in cancer therapy due to drug resistance, therapeutic selectivity, and undesirable side effects. The combination of therapies with natural compounds is likely to increase the effectiveness of drug treatment as well as reduce the adverse outcomes. Curcumin, a polyphenolic isolated from Curcuma longa, belongs to the rhizome of Zingiberaceae plants. Studies from in vitro and in vivo revealed that curcumin exerts many pharmacological activities with less toxic effects. The biological mechanisms underlying the anticancer activity of co-treatment curcumin and chemotherapy are complex and worth to discuss further. Therefore, this review aimed to address the molecular mechanisms of combined curcumin and chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer. The anticancer activity of combined nanoformulation of curcumin and chemotherapy was also discussed in this study. Taken together, a better understanding of the implication and underlying mechanisms of action of combined curcumin and chemotherapy may provide a useful approach to combat cancer diseases.

Targeting of oxidative stress and inflammation through ROS/NF-kappaB pathway in phosphine-induced hepatotoxicity mitigation

AIMS

Poisoning with aluminium phosphide (AlP) commonly has a high rate of mortality and morbidities. Phosphine gas is the main cause of AlP poisoning that has deleterious effect on multi-organs especially heart, kidney, and liver. Furthermore, several studies reported that resveratrol has cytoprotective effects through its pleiotropic property. The purpose of this study was to estimate the dose-dependent role of resveratrol on phosphine induced acute hepatic toxicity in rat model.

MAIN METHODS

The rats have been exposed to LD₅₀ of AlP (12 mg/kg) by gavage, and resveratrol doses (20, 40, and 80 mg/kg) were injected 30 min after intoxication. After 24 h, the serum and liver tissue were collected for present study.

KEY FINDINGS

The results indicated that phosphine causes an alteration in oxidative stress markers including elevation of ROS, and GSH level, MPO activity, reduction in SOD, catalase and G6PD activity as well as reduction in SOD1 and catalase expression. Furthermore, phosphine significantly induced phosphorylation of IkappaB, NF-kappaB and up-regulation of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and ICAM-1 expression. Also, phosphine induces markedly reduced hepatocytes lives cell and elevated apoptosis and necrosis. Co-treatment of resveratrol in a dose-dependent manner reversed aforementioned alterations. All in all, histological analysis indicated a deleterious effect of phosphine on the liver, which is mitigated by resveratrol administration.

SIGNIFICANCE

The results of the present study suggest targeting ROS/NF-kappaB signalling pathway by resveratrol may have a significant effect on the improvement of hepatic injury induced by phosphine. It also may be a possible candidate for the treatment of phosphine-poisoning.

Potential Mechanisms of Action of Curcumin for Cancer Prevention: Focus on Cellular Signaling Pathways and miRNAs

Despite significant progressions in treatment modalities over the last decade, either cancer incidence or mortality is continuously on the rise throughout the world. Current anticancer agents display limited efficacy, accompanied by severe side effects. In order to improve therapeutic outcomes in patients with cancer, it is crucial to identify novel, highly efficacious pharmacological agents. Curcumin, a hydrophobic polyphenol extracted from turmeric, has gained increasing attention due to its powerful anticancer properties. Curcumin can inhibit the growth, invasion and metastasis of various cancers. The anticancer mechanisms of curcumin have been extensively studied. The anticancer effects of curcumin are mainly mediated through its regulation of multiple cellular signaling pathways, including Wnt/β-catenin, PI3K/Akt, JAK/STAT, MAPK, p53 and NF-ĸB signaling pathways. Moreover, curcumin also orchestrates the expression and activity of oncogenic and tumor-suppressive miRNAs. In this review, we summarized the regulation of these signaling pathways by curcumin in different cancers. We also discussed the modulatory function of curcumin in the downregulation of oncogenic miRNAs and the upregulation of tumor-suppressive miRNAs. An in-depth understanding of the anticancer mechanisms of curcumin will be helpful for developing this promising compound as a therapeutic agent in clinical management of cancer.

The Role of Curcumin in the Modulation of Ageing

It is believed that postponing ageing is more effective and less expensive than the treatment of particular age-related diseases. Compounds which could delay symptoms of ageing, especially natural products present in a daily diet, are intensively studied. One of them is curcumin. It causes the elongation of the lifespan of model organisms, alleviates ageing symptoms and postpones the progression of age-related diseases in which cellular senescence is directly involved. It has been demonstrated that the elimination of senescent cells significantly improves the quality of life of mice. There is a continuous search for compounds, named senolytic drugs, that selectively eliminate senescent cells from organisms. In this paper, we endeavor to review the current knowledge about the anti-ageing role of curcumin and discuss its senolytic potential.

Extrinsic or Intrinsic Apoptosis by Curcumin and Light: Still a Mystery

Curcumin—a rhizomal phytochemical from the plant Curcuma longa—is well known to inhibit cell proliferation and to induce apoptosis in a broad range of cell lines. In previous studies we showed that combining low curcumin concentrations and subsequent ultraviolet A radiation (UVA) or VIS irradiation induced anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects. There is still debate whether curcumin induces apoptosis via the extrinsic or the intrinsic pathway. To address this question, we investigated in three epithelial cell lines (HaCaT, A431, A549) whether the death receptors CD95, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-receptor I and II are involved in apoptosis induced by light and curcumin. Cells were incubated with 0.25–0.5 µg/mL curcumin followed by irradiation with 1 J/cm² UVA. This treatment was combined with inhibitors specific for distinct membrane-bound death receptors. After 24 h apoptosis induction was monitored by quantitative determination of cytoplasmic histone-associated-DNA-fragments. Validation of our test system showed that apoptosis induced by CH11 and TNF-α could be completely inhibited by their respective antagonists. Interestingly, apoptosis induced by curcumin/light treatment was reversed by none of the herein examined death receptor antagonists. These results indicate a mechanism of action independent from classical death receptors speaking for intrinsic activation of apoptosis. It could be speculated that a shift in cellular redox balance might prompt the pro-apoptotic processes.