ISSN 2756-3855
International Journal of Urology and Nephrology Vol. 1 (3), pp. 035-039, November, 2013. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Curcumin inhibits cell survival and migration by suppression of Notch-1 activity in prostate cancer cells
Tao Kong1,2, Yongxing Wang3, Li Xiao2 and Limin Liao1*
1Department of Urology, Beijing Bo’ai Hospital, China Rehabilitation Research Center, School of Rehabilitation Medicine,
Capital Medical University, Beijing 100077, China.
2Department of Urological Surgery, Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Subsidiary, Dongfang Hospital, Beijing 100078, China.
3Department of Urology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital Affiliated with Capital Medical University, Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Diseases, Beijing 100029, China.
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: +8610-87569043. Fax: +8610-87569043.
Accepted 5 July, 2013
Abstract
Previous studies have indicated that Notch-1 activity plays an essential role in prostate tumorigenesis. However, its underlying mechanism is not yet clear. In this study, Curcumin, a drug widely used in Ayurvedic medicine for its antimalarial and anti-inflammatory properties, was used to investigate its impact on cell survival, migration and Notch signaling status in prostate cancer cell lines. Our data show that Curcumin treatment significantly suppressed the proliferation and migration of prostate cancer cell lines DU145 and PC3 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Two migration-related genes, MT1-MMP and its target-molecule MMP2, were downregulated by Curcumin. There was no significant change of Notch-1 and its cleaved product NICD levels after Curcumin treatment. Furthermore, our chromatin immunoprecipitation assay (ChIP) revealed a remarkable decrease of NICD binding to Hes-1 promoter. Altogether, our results suggest an anti-tumor action of Curcumin in prostate cancer that might be through suppression of the Notch-1 transactivity.
Key words: Prostate cancer, Curcumin, Notch.