Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a well known antioxidant that exerts anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects. The effects of curcumin were evaluated in a breast cancer model that was developed with the immortalized breast epithelial cell line, MCF-10F after exposure to low doses of high LET (linear energy transfer) α particles (150 keV/µm) of radiation, and subsequently cultured in the presence of 17β-estradiol (estrogen). This model consisted of human breast epithelial cells in different stages of transformation: i) a control cell line, MCF-10F, ii) an estrogen-treated cell line, named Estrogen, iii) a malignant cell line, named Alpha3 and iv) a malignant and tumorigenic, cell line named Alpha5. Curcumin decreased the formation of hydrogen peroxide in the control MCF-10F, Estrogen and Alpha5 cell lines in comparison to their counterparts. Curcumin had little effect on NFκB (50 kDa) but decreased the protein expression in the Estrogen cell line in comparison to their counterparts. Curcumin enhanced manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) protein expression in the MCF-10F and Alpha3 cell lines. Results indicated that catalase protein expression increased in curcumin treated-Alpha3 and Alpha5 cell lines. Curcumin slightly decreased lipid peroxidation in the MCF-10F cell lines, but significantly (P<0.05) decreased it in the Alpha5 cell line treated with curcumin in comparison to their counterparts as demonstrated by the 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α (8-iso-PGF2α) levels. It can be concluded that curcumin acted upon oxidative stress in human breast epithelial cells transformed by the effect of radiation in the presence of estrogen.

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