TY - JOUR AB - Cancer stem cells are considered as a main cause of cancer recurrence. In the present study, the effects of curcumin on the growth of liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) were investigated. The proliferation and apoptosis of LCSCs were assessed by MTT assays and flow cytometry. Changes in the expression of apoptosis‑related proteins were identified by western blotting. The results of the study demonstrated that curcumin treatment inhibited the growth of LCSCs, induced cell apoptosis, as well as regulated the expression of apoptosis‑associated proteins and the release of cytochrome c. Further experiments revealed that treatment with curcumin inhibited that the activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3‑kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. Treatment with an activator of PI3K/AKT reversed the curcumin‑induced growth inhibition of LCSCs. These results demonstrated that curcumin inhibited the growth of LCSCs through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Thus, the present study suggested that curcumin may be a potentially efficient agent in the treatment of liver cancer. AD - Department of Liver Disease, Xuzhou Infectious Disease Hospital, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, P.R. China AU - Wang,Ji AU - Wang,Chunying AU - Bu,Gaofeng DA - 2018/04/01 DO - 10.3892/etm.2018.5805 EP - 3658 IS - 4 JO - Exp Ther Med KW - apoptosis curcumin liver cancer phosphatidylinositol 3‑kinase protein kinase B mammalian target of rapamycin stem cells PY - 2018 SN - 1792-0981 1792-1015 SP - 3650 ST - Curcumin inhibits the growth of liver cancer stem cells through the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway T2 - Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine TI - Curcumin inhibits the growth of liver cancer stem cells through the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2018.5805 VL - 15 ER -