Antitumor effects of curcumin and oxaliplatin combination on xenografts of human colon cancer LoVo cells in nude mice / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the effects of curcumin combined with oxaliplatin on the human colon cancer cells LoVo xenografted tumor in nude mice and to explore the mechanism. Methods: Nude mice were implanted with human colon cancer LoVo cells. All tumor-bearing mice were randomly divided into four groups and treated with vehicle, 50 mg/kg curcumin, 25 mg/kg oxaliplatin, and their combination (50 mg/kg curcumin + 25 mg/kg oxaliplatin) by ip injection once every other day individually. After continuous administration of drug treatment for 11 times, the weights of nude mice were recorded, the stripping tumor weight was monitored, and the tumor volume and tumor inhibitory rates were calculated. The enucleation of eyeball for taking blood and blood routine examination were carried out and the function of liver and kidney was detected. Tumor cell cycle and apoptosis rate were assayed by flow cytometry. The pathological morphology of tumor was analyzed by HE staining. The apoptosis related gene expression was detected by RT-PCR. Results: Tumor inhibitory rates of curcumin, oxaliplatin, and curcumin + oxaliplatin groups were 59.47%, 55.49%, and 70.56%, respectively. Curcumin combination with oxaliplatin did not influence the blood system, liver, and kidneys in nude mice. Combination of curcumin and oxaliplatin could effectively inhibit the tumor growth (P < 0.05), interfere with cell cycle arresting at S and G2/M phases (P < 0.05, 0.01), and promote the expression of bax (P < 0.01) in tumor-bearing nude mice. Conclusion: Combination of curcumin and oxaliplatin could synergistically inhibit the growth of LoVo colonic xenografts in nude mice.