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Metformin incombination with curcumin inhibits the growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo
Author(s) -
Zhang HuiHui,
Zhang Ying,
Cheng YanNa,
Gong FuLian,
Cao ZhanQi,
Yu LuGang,
Guo XiuLi
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
molecular carcinogenesis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.254
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1098-2744
pISSN - 0899-1987
DOI - 10.1002/mc.22718
Subject(s) - curcumin , metformin , angiogenesis , in vivo , mmp2 , cancer research , pi3k/akt/mtor pathway , metastasis , apoptosis , pharmacology , sorafenib , biology , hepatocellular carcinoma , medicine , cancer , endocrinology , diabetes mellitus , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has poor prognosis due to the advanced disease stages by the time it is diagnosed, high recurrence rates and metastasis. In the present study, we investigated the effects of metformin (a safe anti‐diabetic drug) and curcumin (a turmeric polyphenol extracted from rhizome of Curcuma longa Linn.) on proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis of HCC in vitro and in vivo. It was found that co‐treatment of metformin and curcumin could not only induce tumor cells into apoptosis through activating the mitochondria pathways, but also suppress the invasion, metastasis of HCC cells and angiogenesis of HUVECs. These effects were associated with downregulation of the expression of MMP2/9, VEGF, and VEGFR‐2, up‐regulation of PTEN, P53 and suppression of PI3K/Akt/mTOR/NF‐κB and EGFR/STAT3 signaling. Co‐administration of metformin and curcumin significantly inhibited HCC tumor growth than administration with metformin or curcumin alone in a xenograft mouse model. Thus, metformin and curcumin in combination showed a better anti‐tumor effects in hepatoma cells than either metformin or curcumin presence alone and might represent an effective therapeutic strategy for HCC treatment.