Department of Dermatology, Venereology, and Allergology, University Hospital, J.W. Goethe-University, Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
PLoS One. 2013 Nov 8;8(11):e79748. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079748. eCollection 2013.
Curcumin attracts worldwide scientific interest due to its anti-proliferative and apoptosis inducing effects on different tumor cells at concentrations ranging from 10 to 150 µM (3.7-55 µg/ml). Unfortunately, because of a low oral bioavailability, only low and pharmacologically ineffective serum levels are achievable. In this study, an alternative treatment concept consisting of low concentration curcumin (0.2-5 µg/ml) and irradiation with UVA or visible light (VL) has been tested. The experimental results show clearly that this treatment decreases the proliferation and the viability of human melanoma cells while the cell membrane integrity remains intact. We identified the onset of apoptosis characterized by typical markers such as active caspases 8, 9 and 3 as well as DNA fragmentation accompanied by the loss of cell adhesion. The mitochondrial apoptosis signaling pathway is predominant due to an early activation of caspase-9. The present data indicate a higher efficacy of a combination of curcumin and VL than curcumin and UVA. Reduced effects as a result of light absorption by heavily pigmented skin are unlikely if VL is used. These results indicate that a combination of curcumin and light irradiation may be a useful additional therapy in the treatment of malignant disease.
姜黄素因其在 10 至 150µM（3.7-55µg/ml）浓度下对不同肿瘤细胞的抗增殖和诱导凋亡作用而引起了全世界科学界的关注。不幸的是，由于其口服生物利用度低，只能达到低浓度且药理无效的血清水平。在这项研究中，我们测试了一种由低浓度姜黄素（0.2-5µg/ml）和 UVA 或可见光（VL）照射组成的替代治疗方案。实验结果清楚地表明，这种治疗方法可降低人黑色素瘤细胞的增殖和活力，同时保持细胞膜的完整性。我们发现，凋亡的发生伴随着典型的标志物，如活性半胱天冬酶 8、9 和 3，以及 DNA 片段化和细胞黏附力丧失，可作为特征进行识别。由于 caspase-9 的早期激活，线粒体凋亡信号通路占主导地位。目前的数据表明，姜黄素和 VL 的联合使用比姜黄素和 UVA 的联合使用具有更高的疗效。如果使用 VL，则不太可能因皮肤色素沉着吸收光线而导致效果降低。这些结果表明，姜黄素和光辐射的联合使用可能是治疗恶性疾病的一种有用的辅助治疗方法。
