Curcumin regulates hepatoma cell proliferation and apoptosis through the Notch signaling pathway.

Curcumin has become a compound of interest for its antioxidant and anti-neoplastic properties. This study sought to determine the effect of curcumin administration on cell proliferation and apoptosis in hepatoma cells. SMMC-7721 hepatoma cells were treated with 10, 30, or 90 µM curcumin solution, with DMEM alone (negative control), or with 20 mg/L fluorouracil (positive control). MTT colorimetry detected significant differences in the rates of cell proliferation inhibition following curcumin treatment, with increasing inhibition accompanying increasing doses of curcumin (P < 0.05), compared to the negative control. Similarly, flow cytometry revealed significant differences in the numbers of apoptotic cells following curcumin treatment: increasing doses of curcumin produced increases in the numbers of apoptotic cells (P < 0.05). To determine whether curcumin exerts these effects by altering the Notch signaling pathway, a phenomenon reported for other cancers, relative expression of Notch1 mRNA and protein were determined in curcumin-treated cells. Both mRNA and protein expression of Notch1 decreased with increasing curcumin dose (P < 0.05). Thus, curcumin appears to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in hepatoma cells by altering the Notch signaling pathway.

Relationship between urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor and vascular endothelial growth factor expression and metastasis of gallbladder cancer.

AIM: To investigate the relationship of urokinase type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression with clinical and pathological characteristics of human gallbladder cancer. METHODS: uPAR and VEGF expressions in 68 gallbladder cancer tissues were detected with anti-receptor immunohistochemical stain. RESULTS: Expression rate of uPAR was 57.4% (39/68), and VEGF 51.5% (35/68) in gallbladder cancer tissues. Expression of both uPAR and VEGF was significantly related to metastasis, but not significantly correlated with differentiation stage and size of gallbladder cancer. CONCLUSION: Expression of uPAR and VEGF may be an invasive phenotype of gallbladder cancer and indicator for predicting prognoses, and uPAR expression is significantly correlated with the expression of VEGF.

[Effect of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor on the ratio of peripheral blood dendritic cell subsets].

AIM: To clarify the effect of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) on the radio of two peripheral blood dendritic cell(DC) subsets in-vivo. METHODS: Various doses (0, 5, 10 and 15 microg) of G-CSF were subcutaneosly injected respectively into BALB/c mice, once each day, for 6 days running. Six days later, DCs were separated from peripheral blood. Then the flow cytometry was used to detect the radio of DC1 and DC2 (CD11c(+) CD8a(-) and CD11c(+) CD8a(+)), and to calculate their absolute numbers. RESULTS: After stimulation with varying doses of G-CSF for 6 days, the absolute number of DC2s increased from 9.6x10(6)/L to 55.1x10(6)/L (P<0.01), while that of DC1s had no notably variation, so the ratio of DC1 and DC2 decreases from 4.2+/-1.1 to 0.7+/-0.3 (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: G-CSF can increase the absolute number of peripheral blood DC2s, but has no influence on peripheral blood DC1 number, thus inversing the ratio of DC1/DC2 in-vivo.