The effect of curcumin on low-passage glioblastoma cells in vitro

Oana Alexandru, Ada M Georgescu, Laurentiu Ene, Stefana O Purcaru, Florentina Serban, Alisa Popescu, Corina Brindusa, Ligia G Tataranu, Vasile Ciubotaru, Anica Dricu

Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics 2016 12(2):1025-1032

Background: Plant extract therapy has been the cornerstone of cancer treatment for many years. The natural component curcumin demonstrated antineoplastic effects on different type of tumor cells. In this study, we explored the effectiveness of curcumin against low-passage human primary glioblastoma (GB) cell cultures. Materials and Methods: Early passage GB cell cultures (GB3B, GB4B, and GB5B) were established from fresh samples tissue obtained from GB patients. Growth rate (GR) and doubling time (DT) was determined for each cell line. The cytotoxic effect of curcumin was quantified by hemocytometer cell counting, using trypan blue. To study the changes in cell shape, GB cells exposed to a concentration corresponding to inhibitory concentration 50 (IC50) of curcumin were studied by phase-contrast microscopy by capturing images during the treatment. Results: Our results showed that GB cells proliferate with a GR of 0.2872 and a DT of 2.41 days for GB3B, a GR of 0.2787 and a DT of 2.49 days for GB4B, and a GR of 0.2787 and a DT of 2.49 days for GB5B. Curcumin induced cell death in GB cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The IC50 for GB3B was 46.4 µM, for GB4B was 78,3 µM, and for GB5B was 47.7 µM. Phase contrast microscopy showed that cultures treated with curcumin in a concentration corresponding to IC50 contained rounded cells and cell fragments, 72 h after the treatment. Conclusions: The results of the present investigation proved that curcumin is a natural compound potentially useful in the fight against GB.

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