Short communication: selective cytotoxicity of curcumin on osteosarcoma cells compared to healthy osteoblasts

Abstract

Curcumin is a natural phenolic compound extracted from the plant Curcuma longa L. In previous studies, curcumin has been shown to have anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, the cytotoxicity of different concentrations (5, 10, 25, 50, 75, and 100 μM) of curcumin dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide was compared between MG-63 osteosarcoma and healthy human osteoblast cells. Consequently, the viability of osteosarcoma cells was less than 50% at a concentration of 10 μM compared to the control sample without curcumin, but healthy osteoblast cells had at least 80% viability throughout all the concentrations tested. The results demonstrated that MG-63 osteosarcoma cells were much more sensitive in terms of cytotoxicity to curcumin, while the healthy human osteoblasts exhibited a higher healthy viability after 24 hours of curcumin treatment. Therefore, this study showed that at the right concentrations (5 μM to 25 μM), curcumin, along with a proper nanoparticle drug delivery carrier, may selectively kill bone cancer cells over healthy bone cells.

Keywords: bone cancer; curcumin; human osteoblast; osteosarcoma; viability.

Figure 1

Decreased osteosarcoma cell densities after 24 hours of curcumin treatment. Notes: *P<0.05 compared to 5 μM; ^#P<0.01 compared to 10 μM; **P<0.005 compared to 0 μM (ie, dimethylsulfoxide only) sample. Data are expressed as standard error of the mean and N=3.

Figure 2

Healthy human osteoblast cell densities after 24 hours of curcumin treatment. Notes: *P<0.05 compared to control. **P<0.005 compared to 0 μM (ie, dimethyl sulfoxide only), 5 μM, and 10 μM samples. Data are expressed as standard error of the mean and N=3.

Figure 3

Ratio of healthy human osteoblast to osteosarcoma cell density. Notes: *P<0.05 compared to 0 μM (ie, dimethyl sulfoxide only); **P<0.005 compared to all others. Data are expressed as standard error of the mean and N=3.