Effects of curcumin on apoptosis of ovarian cancer cell lines SKOV-3 and A2780

WANG Cuijuan; SHANG Ming; ZHANG zhihu; SUN Yaxin; WEI Haiyan; SHAO Hua

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-266X.2017.35.001

Abstract：Objective To explore the effect and its mechanism of curcumin on the apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells. Methods The ovarian cancer cells SKOV-3 and A2780 were divided into the control group,curcumin group,N-acetylcys-teine (NAC)+ curcumin group,and catalase (CAT)+ curcumin group. The curcumin group was treated with 20 μM cur-cumin for 48 h. NAC + curcumin group and CAT + curcumin group were first treated with 5 nmol/ mL NAC and 5U/ mL CAT for 2 h,then 20 μM curcumin was added to culture the cells for 48 h. The control group was incubated with 0. 1%DMSO for 48 h. The apoptosis rate of each group was detected by flow cytometry and Annexin V-FITC/ PI apoptotic kit. Flow cytometry combined with DCFH-DA kit and JC-1 kit were used to detect the intracellular reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial membrane potential changes. The expression levels of autophagy-related proteins LC3,p62 and PARP, cleaved-caspase 3 and cleaved-caspase 9 were detected by Western blotting. Results The levels of apoptotic rate,reactive oxygen species,autophagy-related protein LC3,and apoptosis-related proteins in the curcumin group were higher than those in the control group,NAC + curcumin group,and CAT + curcumin group (all P < 0. 05). However,mitochondrial mem-brane potential,p62 expression of the curcumin group were lower than those of the control group,NAC + curcumin group, and CAT + curcumin group (all P < 0. 05). Conclusion Curcumin can induce the apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells SKOV-3 and A2780 by inducing the accumulation of reactive oxygen species,decreasing the mitochondrial membrane potential,and initiating mitochondrial autophagic decompensation.