Background/Aim: Curcumin is a polyphenol that exerts a variety of pharmacological activities and plays an anti-cancer role in many cancer cells. It was recently reported that gasdermin E (GSDME) is involved in the progression of pyroptosis. Materials and Methods: HepG2 cells were treated with various concentrations of curcumin and cell viability was examined using MTT assay, apoptosis was analysed using flow cytometry, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels using dihydroethidium, LDH release using an LDH cytotoxicity assay, and protein expression using western blot. Results: Curcumin increased the expression of the GSDME N-terminus and proteins involved in pyrolysis, promoted HspG2 cell pyrolysis and increased intracellular ROS levels. Moreover, inhibition of the production of intracellular ROS with n-acetylcysteine (NAC) improved the degree of apoptosis and pyrolysis induced by curcumin. Conclusion: Curcumin induces HspG2 cell death by increasing apoptosis and pyroptosis, and ROS play a key role in this process. This study improves our understanding of the potential anti-cancer properties of curcumin in liver cancer.

中文翻译：

---

姜黄素激活 ROS 信号促进肝细胞癌 HepG2 细胞的细胞焦亡

背景/目的：姜黄素是一种多酚，具有多种药理活性，在多种癌细胞中发挥抗癌作用。最近有报道称，gasdermin E (GSDME) 参与了细胞焦亡的进程。材料和方法：用不同浓度的姜黄素处理 HepG2 细胞，使用 MTT 测定法检查细胞活力，使用流式细胞术分析细胞凋亡，使用二氢乙锭测定活性氧 (ROS) 水平，使用 LDH 细胞毒性测定法测定 LDH 释放，以及蛋白质表达使用蛋白质印迹。结果：姜黄素增加 GSDME N 端和参与热解的蛋白质的表达，促进 HspG2 细胞热解并增加细胞内 ROS 水平。而且，用 n-乙酰半胱氨酸 (NAC) 抑制细胞内 ROS 的产生改善了姜黄素诱导的细胞凋亡和热解的程度。结论：姜黄素通过增加细胞凋亡和细胞焦亡诱导HspG2细胞死亡，而ROS在该过程中起关键作用。这项研究提高了我们对姜黄素在肝癌中的潜在抗癌特性的理解。