Gemini Curcumin Suppresses Proliferation of Ovarian Cancer OVCAR-3 Cells via Induction of Apoptosis

Abstract

Background: Ovarian cancer has the highest mortality rate among gynecological malignancies. Despite recent advances in treatment, most patients still suffer from poor prognosis. Curcumin has shown highly cytotoxic effects against different types of cancer. However, its poor bioavailability restricts its clinical application. Gemini Curcumin (GeminiCur) has been developed to overcome this limitation. Objective: Here, we aimed to unravel the inhibitory effect of Gemini-Cur in ovarian cancer. Methods: OVCAR-3 cells were treated with free curcumin and Gemni-Cur in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Then, the anticancer activity was investigated by uptake kinetics, cellular viability and apoptotic assays. Furthermore, we evaluated the BAX/Bcl-2 expression ratio by real-time PCR and western blotting. Results: Our data showed that gemini surfactant nanoparticles enhance the cellular uptake of curcumin compared to free curcumin (p<0.01). Regarding the growth inhibitory effect of nano-curcumin, the results demonstrated that Gemini-Cur suppresses the proliferation of OVCAR-3 cells through induction of apoptosis (p<0.001). Conclusion: The results illustrate that Gemini-Cur nanoparticles have a great potential for developing novel therapeutics against ovarian cancer.

Transcriptome Profiling of HCT-116 Colorectal Cancer Cells with RNA Sequencing Reveals Novel Targets for Polyphenol Nano Curcumin

“…Gemini-Cur is one of the latest nano-formulations of curcumin with a significant anticancer effect that has recently been developed by our group [ 15 ]. We have already reported that Gemini-Cur inhibits the proliferation of different cancer cells through the induction of apoptosis [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Due to the limited information on the global effect of curcumin on transcriptome profiling, we employed RNA sequencing to uncover the differentially expressed genes and cellular pathways that are affected by Gemini-Cur in colorectal cancer cells.…”

“…Despite these tempting advantages of curcumin, the poor bioavailability limits its exploitation as a therapeutic compound [ 12 ]. Our team has recently formulated and characterized a nano-based encapsulated curcumin, gemini curcumin (Gemini-Cur), with significant anticancer effects on ovarian, gastric, breast and colorectal cancer [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Briefly, gemini surfactant nanoparticles belong to a surfactant family with two identical structures that are linked by a rigid or flexible spacer that could harbor and deliver drugs and genes into the cells and tissues.…”

The Therapeutic Potential of Common Herbal and Nano-Based Herbal Formulations against Ovarian Cancer: New Insight into the Current Evidence

“…In vitro [55] Curcumin and paclitaxel co-delivery by hyaluronic acid-modified drug-loaded polyethylenimine and stearic acid…”

MicroRNAs: Important Players in Breast Cancer Angiogenesis and Therapeutic Targets

“…Furthermore, curcumin was found to suppress the proliferation and induce apoptosis of cancer cells ( Ghaderi et al, 2021 ), ( Sobhkhizi et al, 2020 ) as well as impinge MCF-7 cells by upregulating miR-15a and miR-16, which caused downregulation of Bcl-2 ( Fix et al, 2010 ). Curcumin also upregulated miR-34a and miR-181b in breast cancer cell lines and inhibited invasion and metastasis of them ( Guo et al, 2013 ), ( Kronski et al, 2014 ), ( Norouzi et al, 2018 ).…”