Effect of curcumin on inhibiting growth and inducing apoptosis of human gasitric carcinoma BGC-823 cell line

Objective To explore the effects of curcumin on growth and apoptosis of human gastric carcinoma BGC-823 cells.Methods Growth inhibitory effects of curcumin on BGC-823 cells were detected by MTT assay and IC50 value was calculated.BGC-823 cells were cultured with 1.2μmol/L curcumin for 24,48 and 72h.The cell apoptosis was detected by DAPI staining.RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to explore the effects of curcumin on apoptosis-regulated protein and genes,such as Bax,Bcl-2 and caspase-3.Results Curcumin inhibited the growth of BGC-823 cells.The inhibition effect was in a dose-dependent manner.The IC50 was calculated after curcumin treatment for 48h,and it was 1.2 μmol/L.A typical feature of apoptosis was observed by DAPI staining.RT-PCR and Western blotting showed that the expression of Bcl-2 decreased and Bax increased,and caspase-3 was activated.Conclusion Curcumin can inhibit the growth of human carcinoma BGC-823 cells and induce its apoptosis,which might relate to increasing Bax,decreasing Bcl-2 and activing caspase-3.