Reactivation of RASSF1A Protein and Induction Apoptosis in Breast Cancer Cells by Curcumin

Background and objective: Curcumin is one of nontoxic bioactive food component that have reactivation of suppressor genes and anti-oncogenic activity, but the specific mechanism of cytotoxicity of curcumin remains controversial due to the presence of anti-signaling pathways and pro-apoptosis in various cell types. The aim of this study was to examine the mechanism of curcumin in inducing apoptosis through RASSF1A and Bax pathway in the breast cancer cells line. Material and Methods: The breast cancer cells line of CSA03 and MCF-7 were given in a dose and time dependent manner. The anti-proliferative activity of curcumin was determined using MTS cell viability assay and flow cytometry, caspase-3 was used to detect apoptosis for cultured cells. The RASSF1A and bax proteins expression in cells was evaluated by ELISA analysis. Results: We found that anti-proliferative effect of curcumin with IC50 values at CSA03 was lower than at MCF-7. The administration curcumin showed a significant increase of expression of RASSF1A and bax protein, and increases caspase-3 in both CSA03 and MCF-7 cells. Conclusion: The results indicate that curcumin mediates anti-proliferative and apoptotic effect through activation of RASSF1A and bax.