Synergistic antioncogenic activity of azacitidine and curcumin in myeloid leukemia cell lines and patient samples

Abstract

Background/Aim: Azacitidine (AZA) is a hypomethylating agent used in myeloid neoplasms, however, approximately half of patients show treatment failure or relapse. This in vitro study investigated the effect of the combination of AZA with the natural compound curcumin (CUR) in increasing its efficacy. Materials and Methods: We analyzed the effects of AZA plus CUR on proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle and differentiation in myeloid leukemic cell lines (U-937, HL-60, K-562, and OCI-AML3) and bone marrow samples of patients. Results: The results showed a synergy between AZA and CUR in all leukemic lines and in most leukemic samples, with a decrease in proliferation and an increase in apoptosis compared to the activity of each drug separately. In addition, AZA plus CUR showed low cytotoxicity in healthy samples. Conclusion: A remarkable antioncogenic effect of the combination of AZA plus CUR was shown, providing a basis for future studies analyzing the clinical efficacy of these drugs.