Curcumin and (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate attenuate acrylamide-induced proliferation in HepG2 cells

Acrylamide, a proven rodent carcinogen, is present in carbohydrate-rich food heated at high temperatures. It can be metabolized into glycidamide mainly by cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1). The fact that acrylamide is a potential carcinogen to human-beings draws public attention recently. This study aimed to elucidate the effect of acrylamide at low doses on proliferation of HepG2 cells, and to test whether the two well-studied chemopreventive agents, curcumin and (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), would have antagonistic effects against acrylamide. The results showed that lower concentration of acrylamide (⩽100 μM) significantly increased the proliferation of HepG2 cells, but not of the other cancer cells (MDA-231, HeLa, A549, and PC-3). Only in HepG2 cells, low concentration of acrylamide was able to induce CYP2E1 expression significantly. Knockdown of CYP2E1 restrained acrylamide to increase viability of HepG2 cells. In addition, acrylamide raised expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), cyclin D1 and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), which contributed to cell proliferation. Both curcumin and EGCG effectively reduced acrylamide-induced proliferation, as well as protein expression of CYP2E1, EGFR, cyclin D1 and NF-κB. All these results suggest that low concentration of acrylamide may contribute to progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Curcumin or EGCG could prevent acrylamide triggering this effect.