ArticlePloS one2012
Curcumin induces cell death in esophageal cancer cells through modulating Notch signaling.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 110 papers.
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Who cites it
110 citing papers in PubMed, 230 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comprehensive Review of the Interplay of MicroRNA and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Radiation Resistance of Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Chitosan-embedded β-cyclodextrin-magnetic graphene oxide nanoparticles for curcumin loading: evaluating cytotoxicity and apoptosis induction in esophageal cancer.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Article
- Targeting notch signaling pathway in esophageal cancer: from molecular insights to therapies.Oncology reviews · 2026Review
- The effect of dendrosomal nanocurcumin on Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway via PIWIL2 in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2025Article
- Review
- Therapeutic potential of natural compounds in targeting cancer stem cells: a promising approach for cancer treatment.Discover oncology · 2025Review
- Antioxidant and Apoptotic Activity of Curcumin Nanoparticles on HEp-2 Cell Line.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2025Article
- The Combined Impact of Curcumin: Piperine and Sorafenib on microRNAs and Different Pathways in Breast Cancer Cells.Indian journal of clinical biochemistry : IJCB · 2025Article
- The role of growth hormone in assisted reproductive technology for patients with diminished ovarian reserve: from signaling pathways to clinical applications.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Review
- Plant bioactive compounds driven microRNAs (miRNAs): A potential source and novel strategy targeting gene and cancer therapeutics.Non-coding RNA research · 2024Article
- Notch Signaling Suppression by Golden Phytochemicals: Potential for Cancer Therapy.Advanced pharmaceutical bulletin · 2024Review
- Repurposing FDA-approved compounds to target JAK2 for colon cancer treatment.Discover oncology · 2024Article
- Anti-Cancer Mechanisms of Diarylpentanoid MS17 (1,5-Bis(2-hydroxyphenyl)-1,4-pentadiene-3-one) in Human Colon Cancer Cells: A Proteomics Approach.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Targeting Notch signaling pathways with natural bioactive compounds: a promising approach against cancer.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
- ESOMIR: a curated database of biomarker genes and miRNAs associated with esophageal cancer.Database : the journal of biological databases and curation · 2023Article
- Modulation of Notch Signaling by Small-Molecular Compounds and Its Potential in Anticancer Studies.Cancers · 2023Review
- Nutraceuticals and Their Contribution to Preventing Noncommunicable Diseases.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Article
- Anticancer Potential of Apigenin and Isovitexin with Focus on Oncogenic Metabolism in Cancer Stem Cells.Metabolites · 2023Review
- Doublecortin-like kinase 1 is a therapeutic target in squamous cell carcinoma.Molecular carcinogenesis · 2023Article
50 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCurcumin inhibits the growth of esophageal cancer cell lines; however, the mechanism of action is not well understood. It is becoming increasingly clear that aberrant activation of Notch signaling has been associated with the development of esophageal cancer. Here, we have determined that curcumin inhibits esophageal cancer growth via a mechanism mediated through the Notch signaling pathway. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsIn this study, we show that curcumin treatment resulted in a dose and time dependent inhibition of proliferation and colony formation in esophageal cancer cell lines. Furthermore, curcumin treatment induced apoptosis through caspase 3 activation, confirmed by an increase in the ratio of Bax to Bcl2. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated that curcumin treatment induced cell death and down regulated cyclin D1 levels. Curcumin treatment also resulted in reduced number and size of esophagospheres. Furthermore, curcumin treatment led to reduced Notch-1 activation, expression of Jagged-1 and its downstream target Hes-1. This reduction in Notch-1 activation was determined to be due to the down-regulation of critical components of the γ-secretase complex proteins such as Presenilin 1 and Nicastrin. The combination of a known γ-secretase inhibitor DAPT and curcumin further decreased proliferation and induced apoptosis in esophageal cancer cells. Finally, curcumin treatment down-regulate the expressions of Notch-1 specific microRNAs miR-21 and miR-34a, and upregulated tumor suppressor let-7a miRNA. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Curcumin is a potent inhibitor of esophageal cancer growth that targets the Notch-1 activating γ-secretase complex proteins. These data suggest that Notch signaling inhibition is a novel mechanism of action for curcumin during therapeutic intervention in esophageal cancers.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.