ABSTRACT

Objectives: Cell structure changes due to oxidative stress, and the response of cells to this change depends on the amount of oxidative stress. Generally, severe oxidative stress causes cell death. This study evaluates the oxidative therapy of curcumin on Hep-2 cell line.

Materials and Methods: Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma cell line (Hep-2) cells were treated with curcumin for 48 h. Then, cell viability was tested using MTT assay, and the amount of Cox-2 and ROS (reactive oxygen species) was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assay; the amount of MDA was measured by colorimetric/fluorometric assay. Finally, slides were prepared for hematoxylin and eosin (H & E) staining for microscopy.

Results: The data revealed that curcumin had a cytotoxic effect on Hep-2-treated cells. Furthermore, curcumin downregulates Cox-2 and increases the accumulation of intracellular ROS and MDA levels compared with control untreated cells. Additionally, Hep-2-treated cells showed apoptosis.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that curcumin can be an oxidative therapy for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and induce apoptosis. Also, curcumin has anti-inflammatory activity in Hep-2 cells as it can decrease Cox-2 levels in cells. Thus, curcumin is a potential antiproliferative and therapeutic agent.