Abstract
Curcumin has been isolated from the rhizomes of Curcuma longa. Over the years, it has shown outstanding therapeutic potential in various human disorders, including cancers.
The aim is to study curcumin's effects on the apoptosis signaling pathway in the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell line HN5.
The cytotoxicity of curcumin on HN5 cells were assessed. In addition, HN5 cells were also treated with curcumin to evaluate its effect on the caspase-8, -9, Bcl-2, Bax, and Stat3 gene expressions.
The results exhibited that cell viability reduced following curcumin treatment in a concentration- dependent manner. Curcumin treatment caused decreased expression of Bcl2, with simultaneous upregulation of the Bax/Bcl2 ratio. Curcumin increased caspase-9 expression, did not affect caspase-8, and decreased Stat3 expression. The induction of the mitochondria-dependent apoptosis pathway of curcumin happened by modulating the expression of Bcl2 and Bax genes, resulting in the caspase-9 activation. Furthermore, curcumin decreased the expression of the Stat3 in HN-5 cells.
In conclusion, curcumin showed marked anticancer effects in the HN-5 cell line by modulating Stat-3; Bax/Bcl-2 expression in vitro.