Biological effects of curcuminoids and homoleptic metal complexes of curcuminoids against non-tumoral astrocytic and glioblastoma cell lines

Curcumin, a compound that has sparked global interest, has been extensively studied for its potent cytotoxic effects on various human tumoral cell lines. Furthermore, it’s structurally related curcuminoids have shown even greater cytotoxicity against glioblastoma cell lines. In this study, we investigated the cytotoxic effects, morphological changes, effects on cell proliferation, and molecular mechanisms of curcumin, diacetylcurcumin (DAC), dimethoxycurcumin (DiMeOC), and their metal complexes diacetylcurcumin magnesium complex (DAC-Mg), dimethoxycurcumin magnesium complex (DiMeOC-Mg), diacetylcurcumin zinc complex (DAC-Zn), and dimethoxycurcumin zinc complex (DiMeOC-Zn) on four glioblastoma cell lines and one astrocytic cell line. Our results indicate that DAC-Zn and DiMeOC-Zn are highly cytotoxic against glioblastoma cells. Gene expression analysis suggests that these curcuminoids are potent antioxidants. DAC, DAC-Mg, and DiMeOC-Mg control cell proliferation and, when combined with N-acetylcysteine, induce morphological changes associated with autophagy and cell differentiation in glioblastoma cell line A172. These changes appear to be the mechanisms involved in the control of cell proliferation. Our results unveil a novel control mechanism of these curcuminoids in glioblastoma cells, which is sure to pique the interest of researchers in the field.