Curcumin Reverses Ionizing Radiation-induced Epithelial Mesenchymal Transformation of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer A549 Cells

Objective To investigate the effects of curcumin on epithelial mesenchymal transition of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) A549 cell line induced by ionizing radiation.

Methods  The epithelial mesenchymal transformation of A549 cells was induced by ionizing radiation and named as A549R cells. The proliferation of A549 cells was detected by CCK8 assay. The expression levels of epithelial and mesenchymal markers were detected by Western blot in A549R cells treated with curcumin. The effects of curcumin on the migration ability of A549R cells was detected by scratch test and Transwell assay.

Results  After curcumin treatment, the morphology of A549R cells changed from spindle to oval epithelium; the expression level of E-cadherin was down-regulated, while the expression of pan-Keratin was up-regulated; the expression of Vimentin and Twist were significantly down-regulated, while the expression level of N-cadherin was not significantly changed. Scratch healing area of scratches and cell migration ability were decreased significantly with the increased concentration of curcumin in A549R cells.

Conclusion  Curcumin reverses the epithelial mesenchymal transformation of A549 cells induced by ionizing radiation by down-regulating the expression of E-cadherin, vimentin, Twist and up-regulating the expression of Keratin.