Modulation of Biological Activities in Glioblastoma Mediated by Curcumin

Abstract

Curcumin is an alkaloid with various pharmacologic properties; numerous investigations have suggested that in the Central Nervous System, Curcumin has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antitumor effects. Gliomas are the most common primary intracranial tumors in adults. The prognosis of glioblastoma is still dismal. In this review, we profile that Curcumin could suppress cell proliferation and induce apoptosis of cancer cells and genomic modulation. In particular, Curcumin could exert its therapeutic effect via modulating miRNA, affecting a variety of miRNAs involved in the response to cancer therapy. The combination of Curcumin with chemotherapeutic drugs or radiotherapy could prime the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapy or radiotherapy. We also discuss the use of exosomes as Curcumin delivery vehicles. In this context, exosomes containing Curcumin may change the behavior of recipient cells by targeting a sequence of cellular and molecular pathways. Hence, the application of exosomes containing Curcumin may prove to be an emerging area of research in cancer therapy.

Acknowledgments

Authors would like to acknowledge the support of Ms. Mary V.C. Pragnell for linguistic text revision.

Disclosure Statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest, including any financial, personal, or other relationships with people or organizations that could influence the present article.

Author Contributions

P.C. designed the review, supervised and critically revised the final version of manuscript for its intellectual content. T.T. and M.P. A. contributed to design the review and drafted the manuscript. P.E. Contributed to drafted the manuscript and retrieved the literature. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.