Abstract
Curcumin (diferuloyl methane), the yellow pigment in turmeric (Curcuma longa), is a potent chemopreventive agent that inhibits proliferation of cancer cells by arresting them at various phases of the cell cycle depending upon the cell type. Curcumin-induced apoptosis mainly involves the mitochondria-mediated pathway in various cancer cells of different tissues of origin. In some cell types like thymocytes, curcumin induces apoptosis-like changes whereas in many other normal and primary cells curcumin is either inactive or inhibits proliferation, but does not appear to induce apoptosis. These together with reports that curcumin protects cells against apoptosis induced by other agents, underscore the need for further understanding of the multiple mechanisms of cell death unleashed by curcumin. Tumor cells often evade apoptosis by expressing several antiapoptotic proteins, down-regulation and mutation of proapoptotic genes and alterations in signaling pathways that give them survival advantage and thereby allow them to resist therapy-induced apoptosis. Many researchers including ourselves, have demonstrated the involvement of several pro and antiapoptotic molecules in curcumin-induced apoptosis, and ways to sensitize chemoresistant cancer cells to curcumin treatment. This review describes the mechanisms of curcumin-induced apoptosis currently known, and suggests several potential strategies that include down-regulation of antiapoptotic proteins by antisense oligonucleotides, use of proapoptotic peptides and combination therapy, and other novel approaches against chemoresistant tumors. Several factors including pharmacological safety, scope for improvement of structure and function of curcumin and its ability to attack multiple targets are in favor of curcumin being developed as a drug for prevention and therapy of various cancers.
Keywords: apoptosis, curcumin, bcl-2, hsp 70, bcl-xl, ku70, antisense, cancer
Current Cancer Drug Targets
Title: Induction of Apoptosis by Curcumin and Its Implications for Cancer Therapy
Volume: 5 Issue: 2
Author(s): D. Karunagaran, R. Rashmi and T. R. Santhosh Kumar
Affiliation:
Keywords: apoptosis, curcumin, bcl-2, hsp 70, bcl-xl, ku70, antisense, cancer
Abstract: Curcumin (diferuloyl methane), the yellow pigment in turmeric (Curcuma longa), is a potent chemopreventive agent that inhibits proliferation of cancer cells by arresting them at various phases of the cell cycle depending upon the cell type. Curcumin-induced apoptosis mainly involves the mitochondria-mediated pathway in various cancer cells of different tissues of origin. In some cell types like thymocytes, curcumin induces apoptosis-like changes whereas in many other normal and primary cells curcumin is either inactive or inhibits proliferation, but does not appear to induce apoptosis. These together with reports that curcumin protects cells against apoptosis induced by other agents, underscore the need for further understanding of the multiple mechanisms of cell death unleashed by curcumin. Tumor cells often evade apoptosis by expressing several antiapoptotic proteins, down-regulation and mutation of proapoptotic genes and alterations in signaling pathways that give them survival advantage and thereby allow them to resist therapy-induced apoptosis. Many researchers including ourselves, have demonstrated the involvement of several pro and antiapoptotic molecules in curcumin-induced apoptosis, and ways to sensitize chemoresistant cancer cells to curcumin treatment. This review describes the mechanisms of curcumin-induced apoptosis currently known, and suggests several potential strategies that include down-regulation of antiapoptotic proteins by antisense oligonucleotides, use of proapoptotic peptides and combination therapy, and other novel approaches against chemoresistant tumors. Several factors including pharmacological safety, scope for improvement of structure and function of curcumin and its ability to attack multiple targets are in favor of curcumin being developed as a drug for prevention and therapy of various cancers.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Karunagaran D., Rashmi R. and Kumar R. Santhosh T., Induction of Apoptosis by Curcumin and Its Implications for Cancer Therapy, Current Cancer Drug Targets 2005; 5 (2) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568009053202081
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568009053202081 |
Print ISSN 1568-0096 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-5576 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Advances in Cancer Biomarkers and Potential Drug Targets: From Diagnosis to Therapy
Cancer biomarkers play a crucial role in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of cancer. They provide valuable information for cancer detection, risk assessment, treatment selection, and monitoring response to therapy. With advancements in molecular biology and high-throughput technologies, there has been an increasing interest in identifying and characterizing cancer biomarkers ...read more
Novel Therapeutic Approaches to Target Drug Resistant Tumors
With the development of disciplines such as chemical biology and molecular biology, the genes or proteins closely related to tumor occurrence and development have gradually become clear. Targeted therapies targeting these genes or proteins provide more effective methods for tumor treatment. Tumor targeted drugs generally only act on specific targets ...read more
ROLE OF IMMUNE AND GENOTOXIC RESPONSE BIOMARKERS IN TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT IN CANCER DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT
Biological biomarkers have been used in medical research as an indicator of a normal or abnormal process inside the body, or of a disease. Nowadays, various researchers are in process to explore and investigate the biological markers for the early assessment of cancer. DNA Damage response (DDR) pathways and immune ...read more
Targeting the battlefield between host and tumor: basic research and clinical practice on reshaping tumor immune microenvironment
Immune system protects host against malignant tumors through effector cells and molecules. Cancer development and its response to therapy are regulated by inflammation, which either promotes or suppresses cancer progression. Chronic inflammation facilitates cancer progression and treatment resistance, whereas induction of acute inflammatory reactions often lead to anti-cancer immune responses. ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
Related Articles
-
Glioblastoma Stem-Like Cells – Isolation, Biology and Mechanisms of Chemotherapy Resistance
Current Signal Transduction Therapy Manganese Superoxide Dismutase (Sod2) and Redox-Control of Signaling Events That Drive Metastasis
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Interplay of β-Catenin with Xenobiotic-Sensing Receptors and its Role in Glutathione S-Transferase Expression
Current Drug Metabolism Amyloid-β Peptides, Alzheimer's Disease and the Blood-brain Barrier
Current Alzheimer Research The NK-1 Receptor: A New Target in Cancer Therapy
Current Drug Targets NF-κB Inhibitors in Head and Neck Cancer
Letters in Drug Design & Discovery Arsenic Immunotoxicity and Immunomodulation by Phytochemicals: Potential Relations to Develop Chemopreventive Approaches
Recent Patents on Inflammation & Allergy Drug Discovery Tobacco, Inflammation, and Respiratory Tract Cancer
Current Pharmaceutical Design The Return of the INGs, Histone Mark Sensors and Phospholipid Signaling Effectors
Current Drug Targets Autophagy in Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia: Stem Cell Survival and Implication in Therapy
Current Cancer Drug Targets Novel Ligands: Fine Tuning the Transcriptional Activity of the Glucocorticoid Receptor
Current Pharmaceutical Design Current Status of Delivery Systems to Improve Target Efficacy of Oligonu-cleotides
Current Pharmaceutical Design Nanocapsulated Ascorbic Acid in Combating Cerebral Ischemia Reperfusion- Induced Oxidative Injury in Rat Brain
Current Alzheimer Research Rab5 in the Regulation of Cell Motility and Invasion
Current Protein & Peptide Science Phytochemical and Biological Activities of an Anticancer Plant Medicine: Brucea javanica
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry Could Growth Factor-Mediated Extracellular Matrix Deposition and Degradation Offer the Ground for Directed Pharmacological Targeting in Fibrosarcoma?
Current Medicinal Chemistry Gene Expression Signatures of Lymph Node Metastasis in Oral Cancer: Molecular Characteristics and Clinical Significances
Current Cancer Therapy Reviews T-type Calcium Channels in Health and Disease
Current Medicinal Chemistry Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors: New Challenges in the Era of Post Broad-Spectrum Inhibitors
Current Pharmaceutical Design SDH Genes: From Glomic Tumours to Pheochromocytomas
Current Hypertension Reviews