Curcumin Analogue EF-24 Induces Ferroptosis in Human Multiple Myeloma Cells MM.1S

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Liu-Qing Cui, Meng-Yi Yang, Jia-Jun Zhao, Shi-Wei Ma, Guang-Zhou Zhou

 
For citation: Cui L-Q, Yang M-Y, Zhao J-J, Ma S-W, Zhou G-Z. Curcumin Analogue EF-24 Induces Ferroptosis in Human Multiple Myeloma Cells MM.1S. International Journal of Biomedicine. 2025;15(4):746-751. doi:10.21103/Article15(4)_OA17
 
Originally published December 5, 2025

Abstract: 

Myeloma is a type of malignant tumor that originates from plasma cells. The curcumin analog EF-24 has demonstrated promising antitumor activity. However, its role in myeloma cell proliferation was unclear. In this study, we found that EF-24 could inhibit the proliferation of multiple myeloma cells (MM.1S) by morphological observation and CCK-8 assay. RNA-sequencing analysis indicated that several genes associated with ferroptosis exhibited differential transcription, which was confirmed by RT-qPCR. Therefore, following detection of ferroptosis-related proteins (GPX4 and SLC7A11) and upregulation in the destruction of mitochondrial cristae and other ferroptosis factors, including MDA, GSH, ROS, and Fe2+ concentrations, were conducted in EF-24-treated MM.1S cells, which concluded that EF-24 could induce ferroptosis in myeloma cells. Conversely, the addition of the ferroptosis inhibitor (ferrostatin-1) could reverse the above changes activated by EF-24. Moreover, NOD/SCID mice grafted with MM.1S cells were constructed, and intravenous injection of EF-24 effectively decreased tumor growth and protected normal tissues, as observed by Hematoxylin-Eosin staining. In summary, our results confirm the EF-24-induced ferroptosis in myeloma cells and exhibited a protective role in model mice grown from implanted MM.1S cells in vivo.

Keywords: 
Curcumin analogue • ferroptosis • multiple myeloma
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Received October 14, 2025.
Accepted November 21, 2025.
©2025 International Medical Research and Development Corporation.