Promising antitumor effects of the curcumin analog DMC-BH on colorectal cancer cells

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignant tumor of the digestive system worldwide. DMC-BH, a curcumin analog, has been reported to possess anticancer properties against human gliomas. However, its effects and mechanism on CRC cells are still unknown. Our present study demonstrated that DMC-BH had stronger cytostatic ability than curcumin against CRC cells in vitro and in vivo . It effectively inhibited the proliferation and invasion and promoted the apoptosis of HCT116 and HT-29 cells. RNA-Seq and data analysis indicated that its effects might be mediated by regulation of the PI3K/AKT signaling. Western blotting further confirmed that it dose-dependently suppressed the phosphorylation of PI3K, AKT and mTOR. The Akt pathway activator SC79 reversed the proapoptotic effects of DMC-BH on CRC cells, indicating that its effects are mediated by PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling. Collectively, the results of the present study suggest that DMC-BH exerts more potent effects than curcumin against CRC by inactivating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Extracellular vesicles isolated from curcumin-medium weakened RKO cell proliferation and migration

“…Bax (also called Bcl-2-related X protein) is a pro-apoptotic factor, leading to caspase activation and resulting in apoptosis ( 24 , 25 ). It has been reported that Cur accelerates cell apoptosis, and inhibits cell proliferation and invasion in colorectal cancer cells ( 26 ). However, Bax expression and TUNEL staining showed that the EVs isolated from the Cur-medium had no effect on RKO cell apoptosis in this study.…”