International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology

International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology ISSN 2326-7267 Vol. 15 (3), pp. 001-009, March, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Mechanism of Curcumin-Induced Caspase-Dependent Apoptosis in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma CNE-2z Cells

Qiang Wu¹, Yunlong Hou¹, Bo Sun¹, Kun Zhuang², Haocheng Zhang¹ and Dejun Jin³*

¹Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150086, China. 2Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150001, China. 3Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150086, China.

Accepted 28 September, 2025

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an epidemic malignant cancer in Southern China and Southeast Asia. Curcumin, an edible yellow pigment, has been shown to exert an anti-cancer activity in several tumor types. In this study, the effects of curcumin on cell growth and apoptosis were examined in the human NPC cell line CNE-2z, using the 3-(4,5-dimethythiazol-. 2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and flow cytometry. Western blotting and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to quantify pro- and anti-apoptotic gene expression. Curcumin significantly inhibited the growth of CNE-2z cells. Curcumin also induced apoptosis in CNE-2z cells, in a mechanism dependent on activation of Caspase-3, which was associated with Bax up-regulation and Bcl-2 and NF-kB down- regulation. Curcumin had no effect on Fas or caspase-8 expression. The results of this study suggest that curcumin induces apoptosis in CNE-2z cells via the intrinsic pathway.

Key words: Anti-tumor, curcumin, nasopharyngeal carcinoma.