Demethoxycurcumin alters gene expression associated with DNA damage, cell cycle and apoptosis in human lung cancer NCI-H460 cells in vitro.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths and new lung cancer cases are continuously emerging around the globe; however, treatment of lung cancer remains unsatisfactory. Demethoxycurcumin (DMC) has been shown to exert cytotoxic effects in human cancer cells via induction of apoptosis. However, the effects of DMC on genetic mechanisms associated with these actions have not been yet elucidated. Human lung cancer NCI-H460 cells were incubated with or without 35 μM of DMC for 24 h and total RNA was extracted for cDNA synthesis labeling and microarray hybridization, followed by fluor-labeled cDNA hybridization on chip. Expression Console software with default Robust Multichip Analysis (RMA) parameters were used for detecting and quantitating the localized concentrations of fluorescent molecules. The GeneGo software was used for investigating key genes involved and their possible interaction pathways. Genes associated with DNA damage and repair, cell-cycle check point and apoptosis could be altered by DMC; in particular, 144 genes were found up-regulated and 179 genes down-regulated in NCI-H460 cells after exposure to DMC. In general, DMC-altered genes may offer information to understand the cytotoxic mechanism of this agent at the genetic level since gene alterations can be useful biomarkers or targets for the diagnosis and treatment of human lung cancer in the future.