Curcumin Induces Apoptosis in SGC-7901 Gastric Adenocarcinoma Cells via Regulation of Mitochondrial Signaling Pathways

Curcumin, a polyphenol compound derived from the rhizome of the plant Curcuma longa L. has been verifiedas an anticancer compound against several types of cancer. However, understanding of the molecular mechanismsby which it induces apoptosis is limited. In this study, the anticancer efficacy of curcumin was investigated inhuman gastric adenocarcinoma SGC-7901 cells. The results demonstrated that curcumin induced morphologicalchanges and decreased cell viability. Apoptosis triggered by curcumin was visualized using Annexin V-FITC/7-AAD staining. Curcumin-induced apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells was associated with the dissipation of mitochondrialmembrane potential (MMP) and the release of cytochrome c into the cytosol. Furthermore, the down-regulationof Bcl-2 and up-regulation of Bax that led to the cleavage of caspase-3 and increased cleaved PARP was observedin SGC-7901 cells treated with curcumin. Therefore, curcumin-induced apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells might bemediated through the mitochondria pathway, which gives the rationale for in vivo studies on the utilization ofcurcumin as a potential cancer therapeutic compound.