Curcumin inhibits proliferation of human lens epithelial cells: a proteomic analysis*

Objective: The incidence of after-cataracts [also known as posterior capsular opacification (PCO)] is between 30% and 50% three years following cataract surgery. Suppressing the proliferation of lens epithelial cells (LECs) is a primary goal in preventing PCO. Here, we investigated the proteomic regulation of the inhibitory effects of curcumin (Cur) on the proliferation of human lens epithelial B3 (HLE-B3) cells. Methods: Recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor (rhbFGF) was used to induce proliferation of HLE-B3 cells, which were incubated with 20 mg/L Cur in a CO2 incubator for 24 h. Results: We found that the absorbance (A) value of rhbFGF group was significantly higher than the A value of the control group. Furthermore, the A value of the Cur group was significantly lower compared to the rhbFGF group, with an inhibition of 53.7%. Five different protein spots were obtained from proliferative HLE-B3 cells induced by rhbFGF. Eight different protein spots were obtained in HLE-B3 cells incubated with Cur. There were the common variational protein spots at mass/charge (m/z) ratios of 8 093 and 13 767 between rhbFGF group and control group as well as between the Cur group and rhbFGF group. Conclusions: These results show that Cur effectively inhibited HLE-B3 cell proliferation induced by rhbFGF. The protein spots at m/z of 8 093 and 13 767 may be the targets of Cur-induced inhibition of HLE-B3 cell proliferation. Cur may be a reliable and effective drug for prevention and treatment of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)