Antiangiogenic effect of combined treatment with curcumin and genistein on human prostate cancer cell line

High cost and toxicity, low success rate and patient incompliance associated with existing anticancer drugs necessitated for finding new anticancer drugs which can overcome the aforementioned drawbacks. Toward this direction effort has been made to understand the anticancer activity of curcumin (cur) and genistein (gen) combination in human prostate cancer cell line (PC3) cells with respect to their antiangiogenic effect. Cur and gen has shown dose and time dependent decrease in cell viability, increase in apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G0 phase. These effects were more noticeable when cur (20 µM) and gen (100 μM) were used in combination. To understand antiangiogenic effect of this combination, expression of ARNT and HIF-1α was studied. Significant decline in expression of ARNT and HIF-1α protein level was seen in comparison to control group and their respective monotherapy treated groups. Cur and gen are shown to be effective in abrogating the VEGF production by evading ARNT and HIF-1α complex formation as proved by immunoprecipitation assay. Thus this combination seems to be promising toward cancer treatment.