Curcumin inhibits cell proliferation and migration in NSCLC through a synergistic effect on the TLR4/MyD88 and EGFR pathways

Abstract

Despite the increasing number of available therapeutic methods, the prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains poor. Furthermore, side effects are an important limiting factor in the treatment of NSCLC. Therefore, developing an efficacious, safe, affordable and easily accessible chemotherapeutic agent is necessary for NSCLC treatment. As a natural chemical produced by Zingiberaceae plants, curcumin exerts distinct antitumor effects on several tumor types. In the present study, curcumin was observed to inhibit not only cell proliferation and cell cycle transition, but also cell migration in NSCLC, as determined by a series of experiments (such as MTS assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometric analysis, Transwell migration assay and western blotting). Mechanistically, curcumin induced G2/M phase arrest by controlling cell cycle‑ and epithelial‑mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related checkpoints. Furthermore, curcumin significantly inhibited the expression of Toll‑like receptor 4