Radiosensitive effect of curcumin on thyroid cancer cell death induced by radioiodine-131

Multifaceted physiological and therapeutical impact of curcumin on hormone-related endocrine dysfunctions: A comprehensive review

Over the past five decades, Curcumin (Cur), derived from turmeric (Curcuma longa), has gained considerable attention for its potential therapeutic applications. Synthesizing insights from clinical trials conducted over the last 25 years, this review delves into diseases where Cur has demonstrated promise, offering a nuanced understanding of its pharmacokinetics, safety, and effectiveness. Focusing on specific examples, the impact of Cur on various human diseases is explored. Endocrine glands and associated signaling pathways are highlighted, elucidating how Cur influences cellular signaling. The article underscores molecular mechanisms such as hormone level alteration, receptor interaction, cytokine and adipokine expression inhibition, antioxidant enzyme activity, and modulation of transcription factors. Cur showcases diverse protective mechanisms against inflammation and oxidative damage by suppressing antiapoptotic genes and impeding tumor promotion. This comprehensive overview emphasizes the potential of Cur as a natural agent for countering aging and degenerative diseases, calling for further dedicated research in this realm.

Curcumin induces mitophagy by promoting mitochondrial succinate dehydrogenase activity and sensitizes human papillary thyroid carcinoma BCPAP cells to radioiodine treatment

Thyroid cancer is one of the most common endocrine malignancies. Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) treatment is based on the ability of thyroid follicular cells to accumulate radioactive iodide (RAI). DTC generally has a good prognosis. However, tumor dedifferentiation or defect in certain cell death mechanism occurs in a subset of DTC patients, leading to RAI resistance. Therefore, developing novel therapeutic approaches that enhance RAI sensitivity are still warranted. We found that curcumin, an active ingredient in turmeric with anti-cancer properties, rapidly accumulated in the mitochondria of thyroid cancer cells but not normal epithelial cells. Curcumin treatment triggered mitochondrial membrane depolarization, engulfment of mitochondria within autophagosomes and a robust decrease in mitochondrial mass and proteins, indicating that curcumin selectively induced mitophagy in thyroid cancer cells. In addition, curcumin-induced mitophagic cell death and its synergistic cytotoxic effect with radioiodine could be attenuated by autophagy inhibitor, 3-methyladenine (3-MA). Interestingly, the mechanism of mitophagy-inducing potential of curcumin was its unique mitochondria-targeting property, which induced a burst of SDH activity and excessive ROS production. Our data suggest that curcumin induces mitochondrial dysfunction and triggers lethal mitophagy, which synergizes with radioiodine to kill thyroid cancer cells.

Targeting the Cancer Stem Cells in Endocrine Cancers with Phytochemicals

Endocrine cancer is an uncontrolled growth of cells in the hormone-producing glands. Endocrine cancers include the adrenal, thyroid, parathyroid, pancreas, pituitary, and ovary malignancy. Recently, there is an increase in the incidence of the most common endocrine cancer types, namely pancreatic and thyroid cancers. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) of endocrine tumors have received more attention due to their role in cancer progression, therapeutic resistance, and cancer relapse. Phytochemicals provide several health benefits and are effective in the treatment of various diseases including cancer. Therefore, finding the natural phytochemicals that target the CSCs will help to improve cancer patients' prognosis and life expectancy. Phytochemicals have been shown to have anticancer properties and are very effective in treating various cancer types. Curcumin is a common polyphenol found in turmeric, which has been shown to promote cellular drug accumulation and increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Moreover, various other phytochemicals such as resveratrol, genistein, and apigenin are effective against different endocrine cancers by regulating the CSCs. Thus, phytochemicals have emerged as chemotherapeutics that may have significance in preventing and treating the endocrine cancers.

Sinomenine Hydrochloride Promotes TSHR-Dependent Redifferentiation in Papillary Thyroid Cancer

Radioactive iodine (RAI) plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). The curative effects of RAI therapy are not only related to radiosensitivity but also closely related to the accumulation of radionuclides in the lesion in PTC. Sinomenine hydrochloride (SH) can suppress tumor growth and increase radiosensitivity in several tumor cells, including PTC. The aim of this research was to investigate the therapeutic potential of SH on PTC cell redifferentiation. In this study, we treated BCPAP and TPC-1 cells with SH and tested the expression of thyroid differentiation-related genes. RAI uptake caused by SH-pretreatment was also evaluated. The results indicate that 4 mM SH significantly inhibited proliferation and increased the expression of the thyroid iodine-handling gene compared with the control group (p < 0.005), including the sodium/iodide symporter (NIS). Furthermore, SH also upregulated the membrane localization of NIS and RAI uptake. We further verified that upregulation of NIS was associated with the activation of the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR)/cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling pathway. In conclusion, SH can inhibit proliferation, induce apoptosis, promote redifferentiation, and then increase the efficacy of RAI therapy in PTC cells. Thus, our results suggest that SH could be useful as an adjuvant therapy in combination with RAI therapy in PTC.

Effects of Annurca Flesh Apple Polyphenols in Human Thyroid Cancer Cell Lines

Among natural macromolecules, the polyphenol extract from Annurca flesh (AFPE) apple could play a potential therapeutic role for a large spectrum of human cancer also by exerting antioxidant properties. Thyroid cancer is a common neoplasia in women, and it is in general responsive to treatments although patients may relapse and metastasize or therapy-related side effects could occur. In this study, we explored the effects of AFPE on papillary (TPC-1) and anaplastic (CAL62) thyroid cancer cell line proliferation and viability. We found that AFPE exposure induced a reduction of cell proliferation and cell viability in dose-dependent manner. The effect was associated with the reduction of phosphorylation of Rb protein. To study the mechanisms underlying the biological effects of AFPE treatment in thyroid cancer cells, we investigated the modulation of miRNA (miR) expression. We found that AFPE treatment increased the expression of the miR-141, miR-145, miR-200a-5p, miR-425, and miR-551b-5p. Additionally, since natural polyphenols could exert their beneficial effects through the antioxidant properties, we investigated this aspect, and we found that AFPE treatment reduced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in CAL62 cells. Moreover, AFPE pretreatment protects against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in thyroid cancer cell lines. Taken together, our findings suggest that AFPE, by acting at micromolar concentration in thyroid cancer cell lines, may be considered a promising adjuvant natural agent for thyroid cancer treatment approach.

Cellular and molecular mechanisms of curcumin on thyroid gland disorders

There is growing literature on the positive therapeutic potentials of curcumin. Curcumin or diferuloylmethane is a polyphenol obtained from the plant Curcuma longa. Curcumin has been used widely in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for various conditions. The role of curcumin on thyroid glands has been shown by its effects on various biological pathways, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-proliferative, apoptosis, angiogenesis, cell cycle and metastasis. We reviewed the recent literature on curcumin applications for thyroid dysfunction, including hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, and discussed the molecular mechanisms of these effects. This review aims to summarize the wealth of research related to the thyroid gland therapeutic effect of curcumin.

Phytochemicals in thyroid cancer: analysis of the preclinical studies

PURPOSE

In the search for novel effective compounds to use in thyroid cancer (TC) unresponsive to current treatment, attention has recently focused on plant-derived compounds with anticancer activity. In this review, we discuss the preclinical studies demonstrating phytochemical activity against thyroid cancer cells.

RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS

In particular, we describe their antiproliferative properties or ability to re-induce iodine retention, thus supporting their potential use as single agents or adjuvants in radioiodine-resistant thyroid cancer treatment.

Plant natural products with anti-thyroid cancer activity

Thyroid cancer is the most frequent endocrine malignancy, with more than 500,000 cases per year worldwide. Differentiated thyroid cancers are the most common forms with best prognosis, while poorly/undifferentiated ones are rare (2% of all thyroid cancer), aggressive, frequently metastasize and have a worse prognosis. For aggressive, metastatic and advanced thyroid cancer novel antitumor molecules are urgently needed and phytochemical products can be a rational and extensive source, since secondary plant metabolites can guarantee the necessary biochemical variability for therapeutic purpose. Among bioactive molecules that present biological activity on thyroid cancer, resveratrol, curcumin, isoflavones, glucosinolates are the most common and used in experimental model. Most of them have been studied both in vitro and in vivo on this cancer, but rarely in clinical trial. This review summarizes phytochemicals, phytotherapeutics and plant derived compounds used in thyroid cancer.

The Influence of Piperine on the Radioprotective Effect of Curcumin in Irradiated Human Lymphocytes

Objectives

Ionizing radiation (IR) induces DNA damage in normal cells, leading to genotoxicity. The radioprotective effects of co-treatment with curcumin and piperine were investigated against genotoxicity induced by IR in human normal lymphocytes.

Materials and Methods

Human blood samples were pretreated with curcumin at different concentrations (5, 10, and 25 μg/mL) and/or piperine (2.5 μg/mL) and then were exposed to IR at a dose 1.5 Gy. The radioprotective effects of curcumin and piperine were assessed by micronucleus (MN) assay.

Results

Curcumin and piperine reduced the percentage of MN induced by IR in lymphocytes. Piperine alone significantly reduced genotoxicity induced by IR as compared to curcumin alone at all concentrations. An additive radioprotective effect was observed with combination of piperine and curcumin at the low concentration of 5 μg/mL, while this synergistic effect was not observed with curcumin at the higher concentrations of 10 and 25 μg/mL.

Conclusion

Piperine has a potent radioprotective effect at low concentration as compare to curcumin. However, an additive radioprotective effect was observed with co-treatment with piperine and curcumin at low concentration, while piperine increased the percentage of MN in normal lymphocytes when co-treated with curcumin at higher concentration.

Antitumor Effect of Various Phytochemicals on Diverse Types of Thyroid Cancers

Thyroid cancers developed from the tissues of the thyroid gland are classified into papillary (PTC), follicular (FTC), medullary (MTC), and anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC). Although thyroid cancers have been generally known as mild forms of cancer, undifferentiated MTC and ATC have a more unfavorable prognosis than differentiated PTC and FTC because they are more aggressive and early metastatic. A variety of therapies such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy have been currently used to treat thyroid cancer, but they still have limitations including drug resistance or unfavorable side effects. Phytochemicals are plant-derived chemicals having various physiological activities that are expected to be effective in cancer treatment. In this review, anticancer efficacy of phytochemicals, such as resveratrol, genistein, curcumin, and other substances in each type of thyroid cancer was introduced with their chemopreventive mechanisms. English articles related with thyroid cancer and anti-thyroid cancer of phytochemicals were searched from PubMed and Google Scholar. This article mainly focused on in vitro or animal studies on phytochemicals with anti-thyroid cancer activity. These various phytochemicals have been shown to induce apoptosis in all types of thyroid cancer cells, inhibit cell proliferation and invasion, and to be helpful in enhancing the effect of radioiodine therapy that is a typical therapy to thyroid cancer. These results suggest that thyroid cancer can be more effectively treated by the combinations of phytochemicals and the existing therapies or substances.

The Radioprotective Effects of Curcumin and Trehalose Against Genetic Damage Caused By I-131

Background:

Thyroid cancer has been growing rapidly during the last decades. Radioiodine-131 (I-131) as an appropriate therapy modality is currently using in the treatment of cancer and hyperthyroidism diseases. This radiotracer is considered as a cause of oxidative DNA damage in nontarget cells and tissues. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of curcumin and trehalose on the level of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) caused by I-131 in human lymphocytes.

Materials and Methods:

First, 6-mL blood samples were taken from each of the five volunteers. After 1 h of preincubation with the antioxidants, a total of 20 μCi I-131/2 mL (blood + NaCl) was added to each sample, and then, the samples were reincubated for 1 h. Lymphocytes were separated and the mean DSB levels were measured for each sample through γ-H2AX assay to evaluate the effects of antioxidants.

Results:

After 1-h incubation with I-131, the DSBs increased by 102.9% compared to the control group (0.343 vs. 0.169 DSB/cell; P = 0.00). Furthermore, compared to the control + I-131 group, curcumin and trehalose reduced the DSBs by 42% and 38%, respectively. There was a significant decrement (P = 0.00) in the levels of DSBs of the curcumin + I-131 and trehalose + I-131 subgroups compared to the control + I-131 subgroup. Furthermore, there was no significant relationship between the radioprotective effect of curcumin and trehalose (P = 0.95).

Conclusion:

The use of curcumin and trehalose as antioxidant can reduce the numbers of DSBs caused by I-131. Meanwhile, the radioprotective effect of curcumin was more than trehalose.

Anticancer Activity of Curcumin and Its Analogues: Preclinical and Clinical Studies

Curcumin has been shown to have a wide variety of therapeutic effects, ranging from anti-inflammatory, chemopreventive, anti-proliferative, and anti-metastatic. This review provides an overview of the recent research conducted to overcome the problems with the bioavailability of curcumin, and of the preclinical and clinical studies that have reported success in combinatorial strategies coupling curcumin with other treatments. Research on the signaling pathways that curcumin treatment targets shows that it potently acts on major intracellular components involved in key processes such as genomic modulations, cell invasion and cell death pathways. Curcumin is a promising molecule for the prevention and treatment of cancer.