Curcumin Promotes Cell Cycle Arrest and Inhibits Survival of Human Renal Cancer Cells by Negative Modulation of the PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway

Curcumin possesses anti-cancer effects. In the current study, we tested the effect of curcumin on cell proliferation, viability, apoptosis, cell cycle phases, and activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway in the renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell line RCC-949. We observed that cell proliferation and viability were markedly inhibited by curcumin, while cell apoptosis was promoted. The latter effect was associated with increased expression of Bcl-2 and diminished expression of Bax (both: mRNA and protein). The cells treated with curcumin increasingly went into cell cycle arrest, which was likely mediated by diminished expression of cyclin B1, as seen in curcumin-treated cells. In addition, curcumin decreased activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that curcumin exerts anti-cancer effects by negative modulation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and may represent a promising new drug to treat RCC.