1. Curcumin synergistically enhances the efficacy of gemcitabine against gemcitabine-resistant cholangiocarcinoma via the targeting LAT2/glutamine pathway.
- Author
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Thongpon P, Intuyod K, Chomwong S, Pongking T, Klungsaeng S, Muisuk K, Charoenram N, Sitthirach C, Thanan R, Pinlaor P, and Pinlaor S
- Subjects
- Animals, Humans, Mice, Cell Line, Tumor, Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays, Signal Transduction drug effects, Bile Duct Neoplasms drug therapy, Bile Duct Neoplasms metabolism, Bile Duct Neoplasms pathology, Glutaminase metabolism, Glutaminase antagonists & inhibitors, Male, Gemcitabine, Deoxycytidine analogs & derivatives, Deoxycytidine pharmacology, Cholangiocarcinoma drug therapy, Cholangiocarcinoma metabolism, Cholangiocarcinoma pathology, Curcumin pharmacology, Drug Synergism, Drug Resistance, Neoplasm drug effects, Glutamine metabolism, Apoptosis drug effects, Cell Proliferation drug effects
- Abstract
Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is often diagnosed late, leading to incomplete tumor removal, drug resistance and reduced chemotherapy efficacy. Curcumin has the potential for anti-cancer activity through various therapeutic properties and can improve the efficacy of chemotherapy. We aimed to investigate the synergistic effect of a combination of curcumin and gemcitabine against CCA, targeting the LAT2/glutamine pathway. This combination synergistically suppressed proliferation in gemcitabine-resistant CCA cells (KKU-213B
GemR ). It also resulted in a remarkable degree of CCA cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, characterized by a high proportion of cells in the S and G2/M phases. Knockdown of SLC7A8 decreased the expressions of glutaminase and glutamine synthetase, resulting in inhibited cell proliferation and sensitized CCA cells to gemcitabine treatment. Moreover, in vivo experiments showed that a combination curcumin and gemcitabine significantly reduced tumor size, tumor growth rate and LAT2 expression in a gemcitabine-resistant CCA xenograft mouse model. Suppression of tumor progression in an orthotopic CCA hamster model provided strong support for clinical application. In conclusion, curcumin synergistically enhances gemcitabine efficacy against gemcitabine-resistant CCA by induction of apoptosis, partly via inhibiting LAT2/glutamine pathway. This approach may be an alternative strategy for the treatment of gemcitabine-resistant in CCA patients., (© 2024. The Author(s).)- Published
- 2024
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