Senescent Colon and Breast Cancer Cells Induced by Doxorubicin Exhibit Enhanced Sensitivity to Curcumin, Caffeine, and Thymoquinone

Cellular senescence is a process of physiological growth arrest that can be induced by intrinsic or extrinsic stress signals. Some cancer therapies are associated with senescence of cancer cells with a typical cell cycle arrest. Doxorubicin (Dox) induces senescence by a p53-dependent pathway and telomere dysfunction of numerous cancers. However, cellular senescence induces suppression in proliferation activity, and these cells will remain metabolically active and play an important role in tumor relapse and development of drug resistance. In the current study, we investigated the apoptotic effect of curcumin (Cur), caffeine (Caff), and thymoquinone (TQ) on senescent colon cancer HCT116 and breast cancer MCF7 cell lines treated with Dox. Results showed typical senescence markers including decreased bromodeoxyuridine incorporation, increased accumulation of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal), cell cycle arrest, and upregulation of p53, P-p53, and p21 proteins. Annexin-V analysis by flow cytometry revealed 2- to 6-fold increases in annexin-V–positive cells in Dox-treated MCF7 and HCT116 cells by Cur (15 µM), Caff (10 mM), and TQ (50 µM; P < .001). In comparison between proliferative and senescent of either HCT116 or MCF7 cells, Caff at 15 mM and TQ at 25 µM induced significant increases in apoptosis of Dox-treated cells compared with proliferative cells (P < .001). Data revealed that Cur, Caff, and TQ potentially induced apoptosis of both proliferative and senescent HCT116 and MCF7 cells. In vivo and clinical trials are of great importance to validate this result.