2024.01.09
Tumor suppression by curcumin-related compounds
Tumor Cell Biology・ Professor ・ Jun-ya Kato
To develop side effect-free anti-cancer drugs, we started from the natural compound, and focused on curcumin, a phytopolyphenol found in the spice, turmeric. We showed that curcumin targets ROS (reactive oxygen species) metabolic enzymes, and inhibits tumor cell growth by increasing the intracellular level of ROS. Among many curcumin derivatives and related compounds, we found that pentagamavumon-1 (PGV-1) inhibited the proliferation of many human cancer cells at 60 times lower doses than curcumin. PGV-1 specifically induced prometaphase arrest in the M phase of the cell cycle, and then induced cell senescence and cell death (Fig.1). In a xenograft mouse model, PGV-1 had marked antitumor activity with little side effects by oral administration. Therefore, PGV-1 is a potential therapeutic to induce tumor cell apoptosis with few side effects.
Fig. 1 The effect of PGV-1 as an anti-cancer drug
Treatment of human cancer cells with PGV-1 for 24hr induced prometaphase arrest in the M phase of the cell cycle, and then induced cell senescence and cell death.
Jun-ya Kato NAIST Edge BIO, e0020. (2024).