Malignant melanoma is a melanocytic
tumor with a high potential of invasion and
metastasis.
Curcumin is extracted from Curcuma longa L.;
curcumin has anti-
tumor efficacy in multiple systemic
malignancies. Here, we investigated the effect of
curcumin on A375 human
melanoma cells. A375 cells were cultivated, passaged, and treated with different concentrations of
curcumin. We observed the cellular morphology and determined the migration, invasion, proliferation, and apoptosis of A375 cells in vitro. Our results showed that
curcumin induced a significant change in the morphology of A375 cells. Compared to the control group, the groups treated with
curcumin showed significantly wider scratches, and the number of A375 cells significantly decreased in the 12.5, 25, and 50 mM
curcumin groups (P < 0.05 or < 0.01). The rates of proliferation inhibition in the 5
curcumin groups were 19.38 ± 3.57%, 35.56 ± 4.37%, 63.98 ± 5.95%, 86.38 ± 3.91%, and 95.56 ± 3.15%. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration of
curcumin at 48 h was 10.05 mM. The rates of apoptosis in 6.25 and 12.5 mM
curcumin groups were significantly higher (P < 0.05), phosphorylation levels of JAK-2 and STAT-3 in 10 and 20 mM
curcumin groups were significantly lower (P < 0.05), and Bcl-2
protein expression in 1, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20
curcumin groups was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that in the control group. In conclusion,
curcumin has antiproliferative and proapoptotic activities on A375 cells, the mechanism of which may be related to the inhibition of JAK-2/STAT-3 signaling pathway.