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Curcumin is a derivative of the turmeric spice, which is a yellow-pigmented root crop with a resilient sheath and bright orange flesh. It is originally known to be utilized in Asian dishes but, has been discovered to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial and anticancer characteristics. Different researchers have established great possibilities of curcumin's ability to prohibit the growth of cancer cells especially, because of its potentiality to differentiate between normal and cancerous cells. Research questions include understanding the effects of curcumin on the MCF-7 breast cancer cells with regards to the biomolecules of the cells. The results indicated that after attachment of cells for 48 hours, the concentration of curcumin at 15 µM showed more than 90% inhibition of cells within 24 hours. The analysis was carried out on the viability of the cells, western blotting and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Western blot analysis of signaling proteins from curcumin-treated cells showed that the expression level of phosphorylated protein p44/42 in the MAP kinase pathway was significantly decreased and the apoptotic marker cleaved caspase 3 was increased as compared to the curcumin-untreated control cells. Moreover, RT-PCR analysis of the reference genes in the apoptotic pathway (p53, caspase 9, BCL-2 and Bax) demonstrated the upregulation of p53, Bax and caspase 9 genes. The results assembled from this present study suggested that curcumin inhibited the growth and induced caspase-mediated apoptosis of MCF-7 cells via the MAPK signaling pathway. Therefore, breast cancer treatment with curcumin seems to be a promising remedial path in near future.
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MAPK activity dynamics regulate non-cell autonomous effects of oncogene expression
In animals, the MAPK pathway is a network of genes that helps a cell to detect and then respond to an external signal by switching on or off a specific genetic program. In particular, cells use this pathway to communicate with each other. In an individual cell, the MAPK pathway shows fluctuations in activity over time. Mutations in the genes belonging to the MAPK pathway are often one of the first events that lead to the emergence of cancers. However, different mutations in the genes of the pathway can have diverse effects on a cell’s behavior: some mutations cause the cell to divide while others make it migrate. Recent research has suggested that these effects may be caused by changes in the pattern of MAPK signaling activity over time. Here, Aikin et al. used fluorescent markers to document how different MAPK mutations influence the behavior of a human breast cell and its healthy neighbors. The experiments showed that cells with different MAPK mutations behaved in one of two ways: the signaling quickly pulsed between high and low levels of activity, or it remained at a sustained high level. In turn, these two signaling patterns altered cell behavior in different ways. Pulsed signaling led to more cell division, while sustained signaling stopped division and increased migration. Aikin et al. then examined the effect of the MAPK mutations on neighboring healthy cells. Sustained signaling from the cancerous cell caused a wave of signaling activity in the surrounding cells. This led the healthy cells to divide and migrate toward the cancerous cell, pushing it out of the tissue layer. It is not clear if these changes protect against or promote cancer progression in living tissue. However, these results explain why specific cancer mutations cause different behaviors in cells.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1844994
- PAR ID:
- 10201611
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- eLife
- Volume:
- 9
- ISSN:
- 2050-084X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.60541
