PAMAM Dendrimers Augment Inhibitory Effects of Curcumin on Cancer Cell Proliferation: Possible Inhibition of Telomerase

Background: Despite numerous useful anticancer properties of curcumin, its utility is limited due to itshydrophobic structure. In this study, we investigated the comparative antiproliferative effect of PAMAMencapsulating curcumin with naked curcumin on the T47D breast cancer cell line. Materials and
Methods:Cytotoxic effects of PAMAM dendrimers encapsulating curcumin and curcumin alone were investigated by MTTassay. After treating cells with different concentrations of both curcumin alone and curcumin encapsulated for24h, telomerase activity was determined by TRAP assay.
Results: While PAMAM dendrimers encapsulatingcurcumin had no cytotoxicity on cancer cells, they decreased the IC50 for proliferation and also increased theinhibitory effect on telomerase activity.
Conclusions: Considering the non-toxicity in addition to effectivenessfor enhancing curcumin anticancer properties, dendrimers could be considered good therapeutic vehicles forthis hydrophobic agent.