Table 2 Curcumin mediated inhibition of breast cancer spread and angiogenesis
From: Curcumin: the spicy modulator of breast carcinogenesis
Effect | Curcumin alone or in combination | Model used (*cell line/**animal) | Expression phenotype of cancer cell | Solubilization of curcumin | Mechanism | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Inhibition of invasion and metastasis | Curcumin | *MDA-MB-231 **Intercardiac injection of MDA-MB-231 cells in immunodeficient mice | ER− PR− Her2− | NaOH solution | Inhibits expression & activity of AP-1 & NFκB leading to diminished expression and activity of several MMPs; diminished IκB and p65 phosphorylation and reduced activation of the survival pathway NFκB significantly reduces the number of metastases. | [77] |
Curcumin | **MDA-MB-231 cells injected into the mammary fat pad of nude mice | ER− PR− Her2− | NaOH solution | prometastatic cytokines, CXCL1 & -2, which regulate the expression of CXCR4, the receptor for SDF1/CXCL12; | [78] | |
Curcumin | *MCF-7 & MDA-MB-231 | ER+ PR+ Her2− ER− PR− Her2− | Description not available | ER-positive cancer: inhibits the expression of ER downstream genes including pS2 and TGF-beta and this inhibition is also dependent on the presence of estrogen ER negative cancer: reduced transcript levels of VEGF and b-FGF;b downregulated MMP-2 & upregulated TIMP-1 | [49] | |
Curcumin | *MDA-MB-435/β4 & MDA-MB-231 | ER− PR− Her2− | Description not available | Reduced basal phosphorylation of beta(4) integrin; blocked alpha(6)beta(4)-dependent Akt activation and expression of cell motility-promoting factor ENPP2 (Ectonucleotide Pyrophosphatase/Phosphodiesterase 2). | [79] | |
Curcumin | *MCF-7 | ER+ PR+ Her2− | NaOH solution | Upregulated maspin expression with upregulation of p53 & downregulation of Bcl-2. | [81] | |
Curcumin | *MCF-7 | ER+ PR+ Her2− | Description not available | Concentration-dependent down regulation of RhoA and ROCK activities and expression of RhoA, ROCK1, ROCK2, MMP2 and MMP9; attenuation of RhoA/ROCK/MMPs pathway. | [82] | |
Curcumin | *Patient-derived primary breast CAF cells (bCAFs) |  | DMSO | Inactivated the JAK2/STAT3 pathway; upregulated p16INK4A & other tumor suppressor proteins; reduced the level of alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA); suppressed the expression/secretion of stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), IL-6, MMP-2, MMP-9, and TGF-β, which impeded their paracrine procarcinogenic potential; down-regulation of downstream targets c-Myc & survivin | [74] | |
Curcumin | *MCF-7 | ER+ PR+ Her2− | Description not available | Inhibition of PKCα-dependent MMP-expression, down- regulation of NF-κB and reduction of AP-1 activation; strongly repressed the TPA-induced phosphorylation of p38 and JNK and inhibited TPA-induced translocation of PKCα from the cytosol to the membrane. | [83] | |
Curcumin | *MCF-7 | ER+ PR+ Her2− | DMSO | Decreased the expression of uPA and NF-κB DNA binding activity, | [84] | |
Curcumin | *MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468 & MCF-7 | ER− PR− Her2− (basal A and B) ER+ PR+ Her2− | Description not available | Down-regulates visfatin gene expression; decreased activity of constitutive NF-κB signalling. | [87] | |
Curcumin | *MCF-7 & MDA-MB-231 | ER+ PR+ Her2− ER− PR− Her2− | Description not available | Down-regulation of LPS-induced markers of EMT such as vimentin via downregulation of NF-κB-Snail activity; upregulation of expression of E-cadherin | [95] | |
Inhibition of tumour angiogenesis | Curcumin | **MDA.MB231 xenograft model in Female Foxn1nu/nu mice | ER− PR− Her2− | Description not available | Inhibits activation of NF-κB pathway with significant reductions in the expression of PECAM-1, cyclin D1, and p65; | [88] |
Curcumin | *MDA-MB-231 | ER− PR− Her2− | Description not available | Inhibits OPN-induced VEGF expression by suppressing the binding activities of NF-κB & ATF-4. | [91] |