Curcumin suppresses LGR5(+) colorectal cancer stem cells by inducing autophagy and via repressing TFAP2A-mediated ECM pathway

Colorectal cancer stem cells (CSCs) have the potential for self-renewal, proliferation, and differentiation. And LGR5 is a stem cell marker gene of colorectal cancer. Curcumin can suppress oncogenicity of many cancer cells, yet the effect and mechanism of curcumin in LGR5(+) colorectal cancer stem cells (CSCs) have not been studied. In this study, we studied the effect of curcumin on LGR5(+) colorectal CSCs using the experiments of tumorsphere formation, cell viability and cell apoptosis. Then autophagy analysis, RNA-Seq, and real-time PCR were used to identify the mechanism responsible for the inhibition of LGR5(+) colorectal CSCs. Our results showed that curcumin inhibited tumorsphere formation, decreased cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, and also promoted apoptosis of LGR5(+) colorectal CSCs. Next, we found curcumin induced autophagy of LGR5(+) colorectal CSCs. When LGR5(+) colorectal CSCs were co-treated with curcumin and the autophagy inhibitor (hydroxychloroquine), curcumin-induced cell proliferation inhibition decreased. In addition, we also found that curcumin inhibited the extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction pathway via the downregulation of the following genes: GP1BB, COL9A3, COMP, AGRN, ITGB4, LAMA5, COL2A1, ITGB6, ITGA1, and TNC. Further, these genes were transcriptionally regulated by TFAP2A, and the high expression of TFAP2A was associated with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer. In conclusion, curcumin suppressed LGR5(+) colorectal CSCs, potentially by inducing autophagy and repressing the oncogenic TFAP2A-mediated ECM pathway. Graphic abstract

Automated summary

Curcumin was found to inhibit tumorsphere formation, decrease cell viability, and promote apoptosis of LGR5(+) colorectal cancer stem cells. Additionally, curcumin induced autophagy in these CSCs. The study also revealed that curcumin inhibited the ECM-receptor interaction pathway by downregulating specific genes, which were transcriptionally regulated by TFAP2A.