Effect of Curcumin on Proliferation and Apoptosis of HeLa Cells

Objective To explore the effect of curcumin on the proliferation and apoptosis of human cervical cancer HeLa cells as well as mechanism of the effect.Methods HeLa cells were treated with 10,20 and 40μmol/L curcumin for 24 h respec-tively.HeLa cells were observed for morphology by light microscopy,and determined for proliferation by MTT method,for apoptosis by TUNEL method,for expressions of cytochrome C and caspase-9 proteins by immunohistochemcal method,and for the expression of XIAP by Western blot.Results Curcumin showed a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on proliferation of HeLa cells.Partial HeLa cells showed typical morphological change of apoptosis.After treatment with curcumin,the expressions of cytochrome C and caspase-9 proteins increased significantly,while that of XIAP protein decreased,both in dose-dependent modes.Conclusion Curcumin inhibits the proliferation and induces the apoptosis of HeLa cells,which may be associated with the up-regulation of cytochrome C and cas-pase-9 expressions and down-regulation of XIAP expression.