Curcumin enhances cisplatin sensitivity of human NSCLC cell lines through influencing Cu-Sp1-CTR1 regulatory loop

Curcumin is a naturally occurring polyphenol which has been demonstrated to possess diverse biological activities. We previously reported that curcumin is a biologically active copper chelator with antitumor activity. Copper transporter 1 (CTR1) on the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells mediates both copper as well as anticancer drug cisplatin uptake.

This study aims to investigate whether curcumin enhances cisplatin sensitivity of human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) through influencing Cu-Sp1-CTR1 regulatory loop.

The combination effect of curcumin and cisplatin on cell proliferation and apoptosis was determined in vitro and in vivo. Platinum level in A549 cells and tumor tissue was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The binding ability of specificity protein 1 (Sp1) to CTR1 and Sp1 promoters was detected by ChIP assay and luciferase reporter assay system.

Here we show that combined curcumin and cisplatin treatment markedly inhibited A549 cells proliferation and induced its apoptosis. Using a mouse model of A549 xenograft, we demonstrated that curcumin inhibits copper influx and increases uptake of platinum ion in tumor. Curcumin treatment enhances the binding of Sp1 to CTR1 and Sp1 promoters, thus induces CTR1 expression and chemosensitization to cisplatin treatment. This process is regulated by the Cu-Sp1-CTR1 regulatory loop. Moreover, the enhancement mediated by curcumin on cisplatin therapeutic efficacy in cultured human NSCLC cell lines (A549, H460, H1299) was dependent on CTR1.

Our results demonstrated copper chelator curcumin enhances the benefits of platinum-containing chemotherapeutic agents and CTR1 could be a promising therapeutic target for non-small cell lung cancer treatment.