Curcumin Upregulate HO-1 Expression but Downregulate HO-2 Expression in SHSY5Y Cell

Curcumin, the most active constituent of turmeric, is currently one of the major anticance new drugs and has been reported to enhance Heme Oxygenase-1(HO-1) in human brain when oxidative stress occur. Keeping the balance of HO-1 and HO-2 plays an important role in the brain. However, few researches study the effects of curcumin on the two isoenzymes of HO. Here we investigated the effects of curcumin on the change of HO-1 and HO-2 in neuroblastoma cell line SHSY5Y. We found that the mRNA and protein levels of HO-1 were increased in a dose-and time-dependent manner (P<;0.05) in the cells after treated with Curcumin, whereas, the expression of HO-2 were gradually downregulated in a dose-and time-dependent manner (P<;0.05). A negative correlation was found between HO-1 and HO-2. These results indicate that Curcumin regulated HO-1 and HO-2 bilaterally, which may have an important effect on the pathogenesis and development of carcinoma, and may provide a new direction for disposing of carcinoma.