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Curcumin Promotes Cell Cycle Arrest and Inhibits Survival of Human Renal Cancer Cells by Negative Modulation of the PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway

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Abstract

Curcumin possesses anti-cancer effects. In the current study, we tested the effect of curcumin on cell proliferation, viability, apoptosis, cell cycle phases, and activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway in the renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell line RCC-949. We observed that cell proliferation and viability were markedly inhibited by curcumin, while cell apoptosis was promoted. The latter effect was associated with increased expression of Bcl-2 and diminished expression of Bax (both: mRNA and protein). The cells treated with curcumin increasingly went into cell cycle arrest, which was likely mediated by diminished expression of cyclin B1, as seen in curcumin-treated cells. In addition, curcumin decreased activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that curcumin exerts anti-cancer effects by negative modulation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and may represent a promising new drug to treat RCC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology Surgery, The Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, No. 195 of Tongbai Road, Zhengzhou, 450007, China

    Hao Zhang, Kai Zhang, Haidong Xu, Junyong Wang, Jun Zhang & Rui Fan

  2. Department of Urology Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China

    Weili Xu, Yudong Wu & Jinxing Wei

  3. Department of Anesthesiology, The Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450007, China

    Baolin Li

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  1. Hao Zhang
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  2. Weili Xu
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  3. Baolin Li
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  4. Kai Zhang
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  6. Haidong Xu
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  7. Junyong Wang
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  8. Jun Zhang
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  10. Jinxing Wei
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Correspondence to Hao Zhang.

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Zhang, H., Xu, W., Li, B. et al. Curcumin Promotes Cell Cycle Arrest and Inhibits Survival of Human Renal Cancer Cells by Negative Modulation of the PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway. Cell Biochem Biophys 73, 681–686 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-015-0694-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-015-0694-5

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