Curcumin induces ferroptosis in non-small-cell lung cancer via activating autophagy

Emerging studies showed curcumin can inhibit glioblastoma and breast cancer cells via regulating ferroptosis. However, the role of ferroptosis in the inhibitory effect of curcumin on non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear.

Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to measure the viability of A549 and H1299 cells under different conditions. Cell proliferation was examined by Ki67 immunofluorescence. The morphological changes of cells and tumor tissues were observed by optical microscope and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), and iron contents were determined by corresponding assay kit. The related protein expression levels were detected by western blot and immunohistochemistry. Transmission electron microscope was used to observe ultrastructure changes of A549 and H1299 cells.

Curcumin inhibited tumor growth and cell proliferation, but promoted cell death. Characteristic changes of ferroptosis were observed in curcumin group, including iron overload, GSH depletion and lipid peroxidation. Meanwhile, the protein level of ACSL4 was higher and the levels of SLC7A11 and GPX4 were lower in curcumin group than that in control group. Incubation of ferroptosis inhibitors ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1) or knockdown of iron-responsive element-binding protein 2 (IREB2) notably weakened curcumin-induced anti-tumor effect and ferroptosis in A549 and H1299 cells. Further investigation suggested that curcumin induced mitochondrial membrane rupture and mitochondrial cristae decrease, increased autolysosome, increased the level of Beclin1 and LC3, and decreased the level of P62. Curcumin-induced autophagy and subsequent ferroptosis were both alleviated with autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) or siBeclin1.

Curcumin induced ferroptosis via activating autophagy in NSCLC, which enhanced the therapeutic effect of NSCLC.