Curcumin induces autophagy in ACC-MESO-1 cells

Our plain-English summary of Curcumin induces autophagy in ACC-MESO-1 cells, by Y. Yamauchi, Y. Izumi, K. Asakura, et al (Phytotherapy Research, 2012).

The study

• Authors: Y. Yamauchi, Y. Izumi, K. Asakura, Y. Hayashi, H. Nomori
• Journal: Phytotherapy Research
• Published: 2012;26(12):1779-83
• Cited by: 33 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is known to be widely resistant to therapy and new treatment strategies are needed. Curcumin, which has a long history as a dietary spice is known to suppress the growth of multiple cancer lines, but the effects on mesothelioma cells are not well defined. In the present study we examined the effects of curcumin on ACC-MESO-1, which is a human derived mesothelioma cell line. We found that curcumin dose-dependently reduced cell viability but did not induce apoptosis. Curcumin administration increased LC3B-II/LC3B-I expression, and induced the formation of autophagosomes on electron microscopy. These changes were attenuated by RNA silencing of atg5. From these findings it was speculated that induction of autophagy was at least in part involved in the reduction of cell viability by curcumin.

Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In plain English

This was a laboratory study of cancer cells grown in dishes. It did not study people or asbestos exposure. The authors treated ACC-MESO-1, a human malignant pleural mesothelioma cell line, for 24 hours with curcumin, a substance from the spice turmeric. They used three concentrations (printed in this text as 10, 30 and 50 mM) or the solvent alone. Cell viability fell as the curcumin dose rose. The authors saw no apparent rise in cleaved caspase-3, a marker of apoptosis (one form of programmed cell death). Curcumin raised the LC3B-II/LC3B-I ratio, a marker of autophagy (a process in which cells break down their own contents). Under the electron microscope, treated cells showed vacuole-like structures that the authors presumed were autophagosomes. Silencing the gene atg5 weakened these changes and significantly lessened the drop in viability. The authors concluded that autophagy was at least in part involved in curcumin's effect on cell viability. They said further studies in other mesothelioma cell lines are needed.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: laboratory (in vitro) cell-culture experiment
• Who was studied: ACC-MESO-1, a human-derived malignant pleural mesothelioma cell line (obtained from the Riken Cell Bank, Japan); no human participants
• Exposure: curcumin at three concentrations (printed as 10, 30 or 50 mM) for 24 hours, compared with DMSO solvent alone as the control; no asbestos exposure was studied
• Main results:
  • In ACC-MESO-1 cells, cell viability fell in a dose-dependent manner after 24 hours of curcumin exposure
  • No apparent increase in cleaved caspase-3 (an apoptosis marker) was seen at any curcumin dose
  • Curcumin caused the cells to pull away from the culture dish and round up, which appeared to be dose dependent
  • Curcumin increased LC3B-II/LC3B-I expression at 24 hours in a dose-dependent manner
  • The LC3B increase was weakened by pretreatment with atg5 siRNAs (si1, si2 and si3)
  • Under electron microscopy, curcumin (printed as 50 mM) induced multiple vacuole-like structures, presumably autophagosomes
  • Autophagosome formation was weakened by pretreatment with atg5 siRNAs
  • Pretreatment with atg5 siRNAs significantly lessened the curcumin-induced reduction in cell viability
• The authors' conclusion: The authors speculated that induction of autophagy was at least in part involved in the reduction of cell viability by curcumin
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Only one mesothelioma cell line was studied; the authors said effects may differ by cell type and that studies in other mesothelioma lines and on the mechanisms are needed
  • The authors noted that curcumin's low bioavailability is a difficulty for clinical use

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma, Apoptosis.

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