A novel double carbonyl analog of curcumin induces the apoptosis of human lung cancer H460 cells via the activation of the endoplasmic reticulum stress signaling pathway.

Curcumin can inhibit the growth of a variety of cancer cells; however, its poor bioavailability and pharmacokinetic profiles, which are attributed to its instability under physiological conditions, have limited its application in anticancer therapy. In the present study, we screened a double carbonyl analog of curcumin (A17) and analyzed its effects and mechanism of inducing apoptosis in human lung cancer H460 cells. The results showed that A17 not only induced CHOP expression in human lung cancer H460 cells, but also induced the apoptosis of H460 cells in a dose-responsive manner, and this effect was related to corresponding activation of some important components in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated apoptosis pathway. When CHOP was knocked down by specific siRNA, A17-induced cell apoptosis was attenuated, thereby further demonstrating that the apoptotic pathway is ER stress‑dependent. Our studies demonstrated that A17 has better stability and antitumor activity than curcumin in H460 cells via an ER stress-mediated mechanism. These results imply that A17 could be further explored as a potential anticancer agent for the treatment of human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).