Potentiation of gemcitabine by Turmeric Force™ in pancreatic cancer cell lines

  • Authors:
    • Cheppail Ramachandran
    • Anna P. Resek
    • Enrique Escalon
    • Anat Aviram
    • Steven J. Melnick
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: June 1, 2010     https://doi.org/10.3892/or_00000792
  • Pages: 1529-1535
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Abstract

Gemcitabine is a first line cancer drug widely used for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. However, its therapeutic efficiency is significantly limited by resistance of pancreatic cancer cells to this and other chemotherapeutic drugs. We have investigated the cytotoxic effect of Turmeric Force™ (TF), a supercritical and hydroethanolic extract of turmeric, alone and in combination with gemcitabine in two pancreatic carcinoma cell lines (BxPC3 and Panc-1). TF is highly cytotoxic to BxPC3 and Panc-1 cell lines with IC50 values of 1.0 and 1.22 µg/ml, respectively with superior cytotoxicity than curcumin. Gemcitabine IC50 value for both of these cell line is 0.03 µg/ml; however, 30-48% of the pancreatic cancer cells are resistant to gemcitabine even at concentrations >100 µg/ml. In comparison, TF induced cell death in 96% of the cells at 50 µg/ml. The combination of gemcitabine and TF was synergistic with IC90 levels achieved in both pancreatic cancer cell lines at lower concentrations. CalcuSyn analysis of cytotoxicity data showed that the Gemcitabine + Turmeric Force combination has strong synergism with combination index (CI) values of 0.050 and 0.183 in BxPC3 and Panc-1 lines, respectively at IC50 level. This synergistic effect is due to the increased inhibitory effect of the combination on nuclear factor-κB activity and signal transducer and activator of transcription factor 3 expression as compared to the single agent.

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June 2010
Volume 23 Issue 6

Print ISSN: 1021-335X
Online ISSN:1791-2431

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Spandidos Publications style
Ramachandran C, Resek AP, Escalon E, Aviram A and Melnick SJ: Potentiation of gemcitabine by Turmeric Force™ in pancreatic cancer cell lines. Oncol Rep 23: 1529-1535, 2010
APA
Ramachandran, C., Resek, A.P., Escalon, E., Aviram, A., & Melnick, S.J. (2010). Potentiation of gemcitabine by Turmeric Force™ in pancreatic cancer cell lines. Oncology Reports, 23, 1529-1535. https://doi.org/10.3892/or_00000792
MLA
Ramachandran, C., Resek, A. P., Escalon, E., Aviram, A., Melnick, S. J."Potentiation of gemcitabine by Turmeric Force™ in pancreatic cancer cell lines". Oncology Reports 23.6 (2010): 1529-1535.
Chicago
Ramachandran, C., Resek, A. P., Escalon, E., Aviram, A., Melnick, S. J."Potentiation of gemcitabine by Turmeric Force™ in pancreatic cancer cell lines". Oncology Reports 23, no. 6 (2010): 1529-1535. https://doi.org/10.3892/or_00000792