Effect of curcumin on transcriptomics profile of breast cancer cells: possible relation with telomerase gene expression

Abstract

Abstract A systemic approach provides a comprehensive scheme from the regulatory molecular mechanism of drugs in living systems. In this study, we investigated the regulatory mechanism of Curcumin in breast cancer cells by analyzing the transcriptome alterations in the T47D cell line. The cytotoxic effect of Curcumin was investigated by MTT assay after the treatment of T47D cell lines with 0-50 µM concentration of Curcumin. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis was performed using RNA sequencing to find differentially expressed genes following Curcumin treatment in T47D cells. Transcription factor and microRNA profiles related to Curcumin gene signature retrieved from related databases. A system-based network analysis performed to deepen our understanding of the Curcumin mechanism of action in T47D cells. In an independent analysis, a publicly available microarray dataset including gene expression and clinical data used to evaluate the prognostic power of Curcumin signature and its relation with patients’ outcomes by the Cox model. Our results suggest that Curcumin triggers cell death-related pathways and regulates the metabolism of lipids and apoptotic process in T47D cells. Curcumin signature had significant prognostic power. Regulatory network analyses found specific proteins, microRNAs and transcription factors as the hub nodes which corresponded to the effects of Curcumin treatment. This work provides a picture of the cytotoxicity mechanism of Curcumin and potential therapeutic targets for treatment optimization of breast cancer.