The effects of curcumin on arsenic induced neoplastic cell transformation in 3T3 embryonic fibroblast cells

In this study, the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of curcumin, the active ingredient of Curcuma longa plant, on neoplastic modified cells were investigated. In Balb/c 3T3 cells, which are mouse embryonic fibroblast cells, neoplastic cell change was induced by arsenic exposure. After 32 days of cell transformation experiment, cells undergoing neoplastic change were treated with curcumin, cell viability, lactic dehydrogenase activity and DNA damage were demonstrated in vitro. Arsenic is a toxic element that spreads largely to the environment and accumulates as a metalloid in the earth's crust. Arsenic and its derivatives are found in drinking water, nutrients, soil and air particles. Especially drinking water is the most common source of arsenic exposure. Arsenic is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as group I human carcinogen. Exposure to arsenic; It is associated with lung, blood, skin cancer and various skin lesions. Cancer is one of the major causes of death of many people worldwide, and the number of new cases is expected to increase by about 70% over the next twenty years. Curcumin is a polyphenolic compound derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa (turmeric). Curcumin is the main curcuminoid and has been shown to exhibit many functions such as antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and wound healing properties. In the first stage of the cell transformation assay, Balb/c 3T3 embryonic fibroblast cells were exposed to 10 TM arsenic for three days. In the second phase of the experiment, which lasted thirty-two days, the cells were exposed to 0.1 µM TPA on the seventh, eleventh, fourteenth and seventeenth days. At the end of the experiment transformed cells were treated with six different doses of curcumin and cell viability and lactate dehydrogenase enzyme activity were determined. The dose which reduces the cell viability by 50% was chosen as the curcumin dose to be applied in the comet test. The results showed that curcumin decreases cell viability in neoplastic transformed cells and increases the activity of lactate dehydrogenase and shows a cytotoxic effect. As a result of the comet test, it was concluded that curcumin caused DNA damage in these cells.