Curcumol Undermines SDF-1α/CXCR4/NF-κB Signaling Pathway to Suppress the Progression of Chronic Atrophic Gastritis (CAG) and Gastric Cancer

CAG is the most common precancerous disease of gastric cancer, which belongs to a kind of chronic gastritis. CAG is in close association with gastric cancer, which makes itself a critical node clinically in cancer prevention and treatment. Curcumol is a main active monomer in Fuzheng Huowei decoction, which has the properties of antioxidant, antiviral, and antitumor. In this study, the expression of SDF-1α/CXCR4/NF-κB was detected by in vivo and in vitro methods. Then, we found that the expressions of NF-κB, SDF-1α, CXCR4, and p-NF-κB were decreased in the curcumol treatment group. Curcumol inhibited gastric cancer cells' viability, migration, and invasion and induced their apoptosis. After adding the lentivirus overexpressing SDF-1α to the curcumol treatment group, it was found that SDF-1α, CXCR4, NF-κB, and p-NF-κB protein expressions were all increased, and the effect of curcumol on gastric cancer cells was reversed. In the nude mouse experiment, the tumor volume in the curcumol + SDF-1α group was the largest, and the tumor volume in the Fuzheng Huowei decoction + NC group was the smallest. In conclusion, curcumol effectively protects gastric tissue and inhibits the viability of gastric cancer cells, and curcumol regulates SDF-1α/CXCR4/NF-κB to play a therapeutic role in chronic atrophic gastritis and gastric cancer.