Apoptosis induction and enhanced expression of p53 and PARP genes in the human anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cells line (SW-1736) with Curcumin

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is a type of thyroid gland malignancy that originates from the anaplastic cells of this gland. This kind of malignancy is highly invasive and patients have a poor response to treatment. In this study, the effect of curcumin on apoptosis and p53 and PARP genes expression of the human anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cell line (SW-1736) examined. Curcumin is a major active ingredient in the rhizome of a Curcuma longa that has anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and pro-apoptosis effects. The experimental study was carried out in October, 2016 at the Cellular and Developmental Research Center of Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord Branch.SW-1736 cells with different concentrations of curcumin (2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 μM) to examine apoptosis and 2.5, 5 and 10 μM concentrations to examine the expression of genes P53 and PARP were incubated for 24, 48 and 72 hours. Then, apoptosis was analyzed by flow- cytometry using an Annexin V-FITC/PI kit and the expression of p53 and PARP genes were analyzed by Real Time PCR. The results of this study indicated that with increasing concentration of curcumin in dose and time dependent manner, induction of apoptosis in this cell line increased. Also, treatment with curcumin increased the expression of p53 and PARP genes in some experimental groups compared to the control group. (P=.032) Curcumin has an inhibitory effect on the growth, proliferation and invasion of anaplastic thyroid cancer cells through induction of genes involved in apoptosis process. Therefore, it seems that there is a good research field for the use of Curcuma longa in the control and treatment of human anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.