Curcumin Inhibits Gastric Carcinoma Cell Growth and Induces Apoptosis by Suppressing the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway

Background: Curcumin has well-known, explicit biological anti-tumor properties. The Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway plays a central role in tumor cell proliferation and curcumin can regulate the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway of several carcinomas. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of curcumin on the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway in human gastric cancer cells. Material/Methods: We used 3 gastric cancer cell lines: SNU-1, SNU-5, and AGS. Research methods used were MTT assay, flow cytometry, clonogenic assay, annexin V/PI method, Western blotting analysis, tumor formation assay, and in vivo in the TUNEL assay. Results: Curcumin markedly impaired tumor cell viability and induced apoptosis in vitro. Curcumin significantly suppressed the levels of Wnt3a, LRP6, phospho-LRP6, beta-catenin, phospho-beta-catenin, C-myc, and survivin. Xenograft growth in vivo was inhibited and the target genes of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling were also reduced by curcumin treatment. Conclusions: Curcumin exerts anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effect in gastric cancer cells and in a xenograft model. Inhibition of the Wnt/b-catenin signaling pathway and the subsequently reduced expression of Wnt target genes show potential as a newly-identified molecular mechanism of curcumin treatment.