Curcumin combined with Glu-GNPs enhancing radiosensitivity of transplanted tumor of MDA-MB-231-luc cells in nude mice

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Breast cancer is the first cause of cancer death in women all over the world. And the morbidity of breast cancer has been increasing in recent years. Nowadays, the treatment of breast cancer is still a problem. Radiotherapy resistance is one of the important factors leading to poor prognosis of clinical treatment. Curcumin, a plant polyphenol from Curcuma longa, has antitumor activity and inhibition of tumor recurrence and metastasis. However, the influence of curcumin on radiosensitivity of breast carcinoma xenografts, the synergistic effect and possible mechanism of curcumin and Glucose-Gold nanoparticles (Glu-GNPs) in nude mice in vivo need to be further explored. The model of transplanted tumor in nude mice was established and sensitized by intravenous injection of curcumin and Glu-GNPs. The results showed that curcumin can significantly inhibit the growth of tumor, and has no obvious effect on the body weight of nude mice, and Curcumin, Glu-GNPs and X-ray irradiation treatment alone or in combination could reduce the expression of <jats:italic>VEGF</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>HSP90</jats:italic> mRNA and protein compared with model group in tumor tissue. The inhibition of irradiation resistance may be related to inhibiting the synthesis of <jats:italic>VEGF</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>HSP90</jats:italic>. This study suggested that curcumin and Glu-GNPs have the radiosensitization effect in vivo, which provides an experimental basis for the clinical development of green radiosensitizers.</jats:p>