RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Curcumin Activates ROS Signaling to Promote Pyroptosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma HepG2 Cells JF In Vivo JO In Vivo FD International Institute of Anticancer Research SP 249 OP 257 DO 10.21873/invivo.12253 VO 35 IS 1 A1 WAN-FENG LIANG A1 YI-XI GONG A1 HAI-FENG LI A1 FU-LIANG SUN A1 WEI-LONG LI A1 DONG-QIN CHEN A1 DAN-PING XIE A1 CHEN-XI REN A1 XIAO-YU GUO A1 ZI-YI WANG A1 TAEHO KWON A1 HU-NAN SUN YR 2021 UL http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/35/1/249.abstract AB Background/Aim: Curcumin is a polyphenol that exerts a variety of pharmacological activities and plays an anti-cancer role in many cancer cells. It was recently reported that gasdermin E (GSDME) is involved in the progression of pyroptosis. Materials and Methods: HepG2 cells were treated with various concentrations of curcumin and cell viability was examined using MTT assay, apoptosis was analysed using flow cytometry, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels using dihydroethidium, LDH release using an LDH cytotoxicity assay, and protein expression using western blot. Results: Curcumin increased the expression of the GSDME N-terminus and proteins involved in pyrolysis, promoted HspG2 cell pyrolysis and increased intracellular ROS levels. Moreover, inhibition of the production of intracellular ROS with n-acetylcysteine (NAC) improved the degree of apoptosis and pyrolysis induced by curcumin. Conclusion: Curcumin induces HspG2 cell death by increasing apoptosis and pyroptosis, and ROS play a key role in this process. This study improves our understanding of the potential anti-cancer properties of curcumin in liver cancer.