Aim: To study the effect of curcumin on the expression of prostate specific antigen (PSA).
Methods: AXSYM system-chemical luciferase method was used to examine the content of PSA in prostate cancer cell lines, LNCap after treated with different doses of curcumin. pGL3-PSA luciferase expression vector, containing 640 bp DNA of PSA gene 5' promoter region was constructed and transfected into LNCap cell with lipofectin. Through detecting the activity of luciferase, the effect of curcumin on the promoter of PSA was studied. Western blotting was used to detect expression of androgen receptor (AR) in LNCap cell with different concentrations of curcumin.
Results: The expression of PSA was inhibited and activity of luciferase was reduced by curcumin. There was also significant difference in AR expression as shown by Western blotting experiment after treatment of different doses of curcumin.
Conclusion: Through inhibiting AR expression, curcumin reduced the function of PSA promoter and inhibited PSA protein expression.