[Roles of curcumin combined with paclitaxel on growth inhibition and apoptosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line CAL27 in vitro].

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of curcumin and paclitaxel on proliferation and apoptosis of human oral squamous carcinoma cell line CAL27.

METHODS: CAL27 cells were cultured and treated with different concentrations of curcumin and paclitaxel separately or in combination for 24, 48 and 72 h. The cell proliferation was evaluated by MTT assay, and cell apoptosis was detected by Tunel staining. Expression of Bcl-2, Bax, and active caspase-3 were analyzed by Western blot. The data were analyzed with SPSS 11.0 software package.

RESULTS: Compared with the effects of curcumin or paclitaxel, combined treatment of both drugs significantly inhibited cell growth, induced cell apoptosis, decreased the expression of Bcl-2 and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax, and increased the expression of Bax and active caspase-3 in CAL 27 cells.

CONCLUSIONS: Combined treatment of Curcumin and Paclitaxel significantly inhibits cell growth and mediated cell apoptosis compared with that of either single drug.