Inhibition of ecto-ATPase activity by curcumin in hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells

Takuto Fujii, Takuma Minagawa, Takahiro Shimizu, Noriaki Takeguchi, Hideki Sakai*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Effects of curcumin, a major constituent of turmeric, on ecto-nucleotidases have not been clarified. Here, we investigated whether curcumin affects ectonucleotidase activities in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. In the cells, high levels of Mg 2+-dependent activity of ecto-nucleotidases were observed in the presence of 1 mM adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The activity was inhibited by ecto-ATPase inhibitors such as suramin, ZnCl 2 and 4,4,-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,20-disulfonic acid. On the other hand, the activity was significantly decreased at alkaline pH (pH 9) and was not inhibited by levamisole, an inhibitor of alkaline phosphatase. In the presence of ATP, curcumin inhibited the activity in a concentration-dependent manner (IC 50 = 6.2 μM). In contrast, curcumin had no effects on ecto-nucleotidase activity in the presence of ADP (1 mM) or AMP (1 mM). The K m value for ATP hydrolysis of curcumin-sensitive ecto-ATPase was similar to the value of NTPDase2, an isoform of ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase. These results suggest that curcumin is a potent inhibitor of ecto-ATPase and may affect extracellular ATP-dependent responses.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)53-58
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Physiological Sciences
Volume62
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2012/01

Keywords

  • Curcumin
  • Ecto-ATPase
  • Extracellular ATP hydrolysis
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma
  • NTPDase

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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