Potential anti-cancer effect of curcumin in human lung squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: To explore the molecular mechanisms of the anti-cancer effect of curcumin in human lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSQCC) SK-MES-1 cells. METHODS: Cell viability was determined using MTT assay. Ribonucleic acid sequencing was performed to measure expression levels of transcripts in LSQCC cells treated with 15 μmol/L curcumin (treatment groups) or an equal amount of dimethylsulfoxide (control). Cuffdiff software was used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in treatment groups, followed by enrichment analysis of DEGs using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integration Discovery. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks for up and downregulated DEGs were constructed by Cytoscape software using Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes data to identify hub nodes. RESULTS: Curcumin significantly reduced cell viability in LSQCC cells. In total, 380 DEGs including 154 upregulated and 126 downregulated genes were found in the treatment groups. The upregulated genes were enriched in base excision repair (BER, such as PCNA, POLL, and MUTYH) and Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAT-STAT) signaling pathways (such as AKT1 and STAT5A), while the downregulated genes were enriched in nine pathways, including the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway (such as PTK2, VEGFA, MAPK1, and MAPK14) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway (ARRB2, MAPK1, MAPK14, and NFKB1). PCNA and AKT1 were the hub nodes in the PPI network of upregulated genes while MAPK1, MAPK14, VEGFA, and NFKB1 were the hub nodes in the PPI network of downregulated genes. CONCLUSIONS: Curcumin might exert anti-cancer effects on LSQCC via regulating BER, JAT-STAT, VEGF, and MAPK signaling pathways.