Curcumin enhanced adriamycin-induced human liver-derived Hepatoma G2 cell death through activation of mitochondria-mediated apoptosis and autophagy.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer and the third leading cancer killer in the world. Adriamycin (ADM) is a widely used anti-cancer drug. However, the efficacy is low since high dose of ADM causes toxicity to normal tissues. Curcumin, derived from turmeric (Curcumin longa), has shown its therapeutic potential against HCC. Here, we aim to investigate the effects of curcumin combined with ADM on human liver-derived Hepatoma G2 (HepG2) cell death. We found that combination treatment of curcumin with ADM significantly decreased the number of viable cells as compared to single agent treatment. Hoechst staining demonstrated that apoptotic cell death occurred upon curcumin and ADM treatment. The decreased Bcl-2/Bax protein ratio and the activation of caspase-3 were also detected. In addition, curcumin plus ADM led to mitochondrial fragmentation, the reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential, as well as the activation of autophagy. These findings suggest the combined treatment of curcumin with ADM might be an optional chemotherapeutic method for HCC.