Effects of curcumin on invasion and metastasis in the human cervical cancer cells Caski

Objective  To explore the effects of curcumin on invasion and metastasis in the human cervical cancer cells Caski. Methods  Caski cells were treated with 10, 25, 50μmol/L curcumin for 24, 48, 72 h. Proliferation of Caski cells was measured with MTT assay. When treated with 50μmol/L curcumin for 72 h, the expressions of MMP-2, MT1-MMP and NF-κB of cells were detected by Western-blot, and invasion and metastasis of Caski cells were evaluated with transwell chamber. Results  After being treated with 10μmol/L, 25μmol/L, 50μmol/L curcumin for 24, 48 and 72 h, the proliferation of Caski cells was inhibited in a dose-and time-dependent manner. The expression of MMP-2, MT1-MMP and NF-κB were decreased when being treated with 50μmol/L curcumin for 72 h. After treatment with 50μmol/L curcumin, in invasion assay, the number of cells in curcumin treated group to migrate to filter coated with Matrigel was reduced compared with control group(P<0.05). Meanwhile, in migration assay, the number of cells in curcumin treated group to migrate to filter was also decreased compared with control group (P<0.05). Conclusion  Curcumin could affect the invasion and metastasis of the human cervical cancer cells Caski. Inhibiting the expression of MMP-2, MT1-MMP and NF-κB was probably one of its molecular mechanisms.