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Curcumin in Human Diseases and Animal Models

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactives and Nutraceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 3509

Special Issue Editors

Institute of Biosciences and BioResources-UOS Naples CNR, 80131 Naples, Italy
Interests: natural molecules; apoptosis; cell death; gene expression; miRNA; transcriptomics; biomarkers; cancer
Institute of Genetics and Biophysics "Adriano Buzzati-Traverso", National Research Council, 80131 Naples, Italy
Interests: intellectual disability and developmental epileptic encephalopathies; ARX-KDM5C; disease models; convergent transcriptional pathways
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

in the latest years the use of curcumin as herbal remedy is greatly increased. Curcumin is a polyphenol found in the turmeric of Curcuma longa Linn that has been used for centuries in Asian traditional medicine to treat different diseases also due to high safety and lack of toxicity to humans, even at high doses.

The general interest in the therapeutic efficacy of curcumin arises from the different biological and pharmacological effects. In fact, curcumin possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and it has shown to exert beneficial effects against several types of cancers. In addition, curcumin is able to reduce accumulation of oxidative damages thus preventing the onset of neurodegenerative and age-related diseases.

The pharmacological potential of curcumin is related to its bioavailability that is enhanced by interaction with gut microbiota, a dynamic microbial ecosystem with amazing metabolic functions and to the activation of different molecular pathways depending on the cellular context.

This Special Issue will collect original research articles and review papers on human cells and animal models focused on distinct and complementary aspects of curcumin research: analysis of the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of curcumin for different human diseases including cancer and neurological diseases, analysis of curcumin bioavailability also considering specific delivery systems, analysis of the generation of curcumin bioactive metabolites including the  interaction with gut microbiota.

Dr. Stefania Crispi
Dr. Maria Giuseppina Miano
Dr. Nunzio Antonio Cacciola
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 10697 KiB  
Article
Differential Cytotoxicity of Curcumin-Loaded Micelles on Human Tumor and Stromal Cells
by Xuan-Hai Do, My Hanh Thi Hoang, Anh-Tuan Vu, Lai-Thanh Nguyen, Dung Thi Thuy Bui, Duy-Thanh Dinh, Xuan-Hung Nguyen, Uyen Thi Trang Than, Hien Thi Mai, Thuy Thanh To, Tra Ngoc Huong Nguyen and Nhung Thi My Hoang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(20), 12362; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232012362 - 15 Oct 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1808
Abstract
Although curcumin in the form of nanoparticles has been demonstrated as a potential anti-tumor compound, the impact of curcumin and nanocurcumin in vitro on normal cells and in vivo in animal models is largely unknown. This study evaluated the toxicity of curcumin-loaded micelles [...] Read more.
Although curcumin in the form of nanoparticles has been demonstrated as a potential anti-tumor compound, the impact of curcumin and nanocurcumin in vitro on normal cells and in vivo in animal models is largely unknown. This study evaluated the toxicity of curcumin-loaded micelles in vitro and in vivo on several tumor cell lines, primary stromal cells, and zebrafish embryos. Breast tumor cell line (MCF7) and stromal cells (human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells, human fibroblasts, and human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells) were used in this study. A zebrafish embryotoxicity (FET) assay was conducted following the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Test 236. Compared to free curcumin, curcumin PM showed higher cytotoxicity to MCF7 cells in both monolayer culture and multicellular tumor spheroids. The curcumin-loaded micelles efficiently penetrated the MCF7 spheroids and induced apoptosis. The nanocurcumin reduced the viability and disturbed the function of stromal cells by suppressing cell migration and tube formation. The micelles demonstrated toxicity to the development of zebrafish embryos. Curcumin-loaded micelles demonstrated toxicity to both tumor and normal primary stromal cells and zebrafish embryos, indicating that the use of nanocurcumin in cancer treatment should be carefully investigated and controlled. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Curcumin in Human Diseases and Animal Models)
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Review

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20 pages, 1727 KiB  
Review
An Overview of the Enhanced Effects of Curcumin and Chemotherapeutic Agents in Combined Cancer Treatments
by Nunzio Antonio Cacciola, Rossana Cuciniello, Gianluigi Daniele Petillo, Miriam Piccioni, Stefania Filosa and Stefania Crispi
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(16), 12587; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241612587 - 09 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1238
Abstract
Due to the progressive ageing of the human population, the number of cancer cases is increasing. For this reason, there is an urgent need for new treatments that can prolong the lives of cancer patients or ensure them a good quality of life. [...] Read more.
Due to the progressive ageing of the human population, the number of cancer cases is increasing. For this reason, there is an urgent need for new treatments that can prolong the lives of cancer patients or ensure them a good quality of life. Although significant progress has been made in the treatment of cancer in recent years and the survival rate of patients is increasing, limitations in the use of conventional therapies include the frequent occurrence of side effects and the development of resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. These limitations are prompting researchers to investigate whether combining natural agents with conventional drugs could have a positive therapeutic effect in cancer treatment. Several natural bioactive compounds, especially polyphenols, have been shown to be effective against cancer progression and do not exert toxic effects on healthy tissues. Many studies have investigated the possibility of combining polyphenols with conventional drugs as a novel anticancer strategy. Indeed, this combination often has synergistic benefits that increase drug efficacy and reduce adverse side effects. In this review, we provide an overview of the studies describing the synergistic effects of curcumin, a polyphenol that has been shown to have extensive cytotoxic functions against cancer cells, including combined treatment. In particular, we have described the results of recent preclinical and clinical studies exploring the pleiotropic effects of curcumin in combination with standard drugs and the potential to consider it as a promising new tool for cancer therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Curcumin in Human Diseases and Animal Models)
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