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Curcumin interrupts the interaction between the androgen receptor and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in LNCaP prostate cancer cells

Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases volume 13, pages 343–349 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Recently, studies have investigated the significance of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in prostate cancer. The transcriptional activity of the androgen receptor (AR) is modulated by interaction with coregulators, one of which is β-catenin. Curcumin, a dietary yellow pigment of Curcuma longa, has emerged as having a chemopreventive role. Although curcumin has been shown to inhibit AR expression, its molecular mechanism has not been fully elucidated. In this study, whether curcumin mediates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway with regard to AR/β-catenin interactions was studied. Curcumin was shown to induce significant inhibition of AR expression in a dose-dependent manner. Marked curcumin-induced suppression of β-catenin was shown in the nuclear and cytoplasmic extracts as well as whole cell lysates. Further analysis revealed that phosphorylation of Akt and glycogen synthase kinase-3β were attenuated, but phosphorylated β-catenin was increased after curcumin treatment. Finally, cyclin D1 and c-myc, the target gene of the β-catenin/T-cell factor transcriptional complex, were also decreased. These findings suggest that curcumin modulates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and might have a significant role in mediating inhibitory effects on LNCaP prostate cancer cells.

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Acknowledgements

This research was conducted with financial support provided by the OTTOGI Corporation, Anyang, Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    H Y Choi & J E Lim

  2. Department of Urology, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Republic of Korea

    J H Hong

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  1. H Y Choi
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Correspondence to J H Hong.

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Choi, H., Lim, J. & Hong, J. Curcumin interrupts the interaction between the androgen receptor and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in LNCaP prostate cancer cells. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 13, 343–349 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/pcan.2010.26

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