• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.488-495
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• 2019

Background: Timosaponin AIII (TA3) is a steroidal saponin extracted from Anemarrhena asphodeloides. Here, we investigated the anticancer effects of TA3 in MG63 human osteosarcoma cells. TA3 attenuates migration and invasion of MG63 cells via regulations of two matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), MMP-2 and MMP-9, which are involved with cancer metastasis in various cancer cells. TA3 reduced enzymatic activities and transcriptional expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in MG63 cells. TA3 also inhibited Src, focal adhesion kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38, ${\beta}-catenin$, and cAMP response element binding signaling, which regulate migration and invasion of cells. TA3 induced apoptosis of MG63 cells via regulations of caspase-3, caspase-7, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Then, we tested several ginsenosides to be used in combination with TA3 for the synergistic anticancer effects. We found that ginsenosides Rb1 and Rc have synergistic effects on TA3-induced apoptosis in MG63 cells. Methods: We investigated the anticancer effects of TA3 and synergistic effects of various ginseng saponins on TA3-induced apoptosis in MG63 cells. To test antimetastatic effects, we performed wound healing migration assay, Boyden chamber invasion assays, gelatin zymography assay, and Western blot analysis. Annexin V/PI staining apoptosis assay was performed to determine the apoptotic effect of TA3 and ginsenosides. Results: TA3 attenuated migration and invasion of MG63 cells and induced apoptosis of MG63 cells. Ginsenosides Rb1 and Rc showed the synergistic effects on TA3-induced apoptosis in MG63 cells. Conclusions: The results strongly suggest that the combination of TA3 and the two ginsenosides Rb1 and Rc may be a strong candidate for the effective antiosteosarcoma agent.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.2.1-2.7
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• 2023

Fenbendazole (FBZ) is a benzimidazole anthelmintic widely used to treat parasitic infections. The anticancer effect of FBZ has been recently highlighted leading to its consideration as a potential anticancer agent. Although previous studies have demonstrated the effect of FBZ on cancer cells, there is a paucity of studies on the effect of FBZ on lymphoma cells and normal immune cells. Herein, we investigated the effects of FBZ on a mouse lymphoma cell line, EL-4 cells, and spleen cells, using vincristine as a positive control. The cellular metabolic activity of EL-4 cells was decreased by FBZ, but that of the spleen cells was not decreased. Moreover, FBZ reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential and induced reactive oxygen species production in EL-4 cells, but not in spleen cells. FBZ induced G2/M phase arrest and increased the sub G0/G1 phase ratio, indicating apoptosis. Furthermore, compared to the control cells, the reactivity of spleen cells pretreated with FBZ to lipopolysaccharide was maintained. In summary, FBZ is cytotoxic to EL-4 cells, but not to spleen cells. This study provides experimental evidence that FBZ exerts an anticancer effect, and less cytotoxic effects and functional damage to normal spleen cells.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 1994

Cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II)(cisplatin) is one of the most effective antitumor agents currently available for cancer therapy. However, its clinical use has been limited by its severe side effects, especially nephrotoxicity. To evaluate the effect or radical scavengers on cisplatin nephrotoxicity in rats, cisplatin and Vitamin C were given intraperitoneally. Remarkable protective effects of Vitamin C against nephrotoxicity of cisplatin were observed when Vitamin C was administered to rats 1hr before cisplatin injection. hepatotoxicity induced by combination treament of cisplatin and Vitamin C was evaluated by measuring serum glutamic pyruvate transmainase(sGPT) and serum glutamic oxalate transminase(sGOT). Combination treatment did not affect the levels of sGPT and sGOT, and any combination treatment did not induce metallothionein biosynthesis in kidny, Vitamin C which has radical scavenging effect induce metallothionein biosynthesis in kidney. Vitamin C which has radical scavenging effect directly reduced nephrotoxicity of cisplatin in vivo. Thus, it seems that free radical is the cause of cisplatin nepthrotoxicity. Also, combination treatment did not reduce anticancer activity of cisplatin. The present results indicate that Vitamin C, when it is given with cisplatin, may provide protection against cisplatin nephrotoxicity without reducing anticancer activity.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.585-588
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• 2014

Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases all over the world. Early screening and start of chemotherapy is effective in decreasing mortality. This type of cancer can be controlled to some extent via a healthy diet rich in fruit and vegetables. Ginseng is a plant which has been consumed as a herbal medicine for thousands of years in Asian countries. Several in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that this plant not only reduces the incidence of colorectal cancer, but also improves patient's status by enhancing the effects of chemotherapy drugs. However, further studies are needed to prove this relationship. We briefly review ginseng and its components such as ginsenosides reported anticancer effects and their mechanisms of action. Understanding these relationships may produce insights into chemical and pharmacological approaches for enhancing the chemo preventive effects of ginsenosides and for developing novel anticancer agents.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.366-374
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• 2005

Objective : Nitric oxide[NO] is implicated in a wide range of biological processes in tumors and is produced in glioma. To investigate the role of NO and its interaction with the tumoricidal effects of anticancer drugs, we study the antitumor activities of NO donors, with or without anticancer drugs, in human glioma cell lines. Methods : U87MG and U373MG cells were treated with the NO donors sodium nitroprusside[SNP] and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine[SNAP], alone or in combination with the anticancer drugs 1,3-bis[2-chloroethyl]-1-nitrosourea[BCNU] and cisplatin. Cell viability, cell proliferation, DNA fragmentation, nitrite level, and the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax were determined. Results : NO was markedly increased after treatment with SNP or SNAP; however, the addition of the anticancer drugs did not significantly affect NO production NO donors or anticancer drugs reduced glioma cell viability and, in combination, acted synergistically to further decrease cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Cell proliferation was inhibited and apoptosis were enhanced by combined treatment. Bax expression was increased by combined treatment, whereas Bcl-2 expression was reduced. The antitumor cytotoxicity of NO donors and anticancer drugs differed according to cell type. Conclusion : BCNU or cisplatin can inhibit cell viability and proliferation of glioma cells and can induce apoptosis. These effects are further enhanced by the addition of a NO donor which modulates the antitumor cytotoxicity of chemotherapy depending on cell type. Further biological, chemical, and toxicological studies of NO are required to clarify its mechanism of action in glioma.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.583-590
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• 2007

Anticancer effect of methanol extract of Caesalpinia sappan L. on oral carcinoma(KB) and osteosarcoma(HOS) cells were investigated in this study. In order to elucidate the anticancer mechanism of Caesalpinia sappan L, we analyzed telomerase inhibitory effect of the methanol extract of Caesalpinia sappan L. In addition, we prepared 5 fraction samples according to its polarity differences and analyzed anticancer effects on oral carcinoma and osteosarcoma cells. Following results are obtained in this study. 1. 50% cell proliferation inhibitory value($IC_{50}$) of the methanol extract of Caesalpinia sappan L. against oral carcinoma(KB) cells and osteosarco ma(HOS) cells were $9.0{\mu}g/ml\;and\;10.9{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. 2. The methanol extract of Caesalpinia sappan L. showed inhibitory effect of telomerase which is required for cancer cell immortality. Therefore, it seems that the anticancer effect of methanol extract of Caesalpinia sappan is at least partially due to telomerase inhibitory effect. 3. Five fraction samples were prepared according to its polarity and 88.7% of ingredient of total methanol extract was transferred to ethylacetate fraction. Thin layer chromatography analysis showed that dichloromethane fraction contained ingredient with relatively high polarity and ethylacetate fraction contained similar ingredient found in total methanol extract. 4. Anticancer effect was observed in n-hexane, dichloromethane, and ethylacetate fractions. The highest anticancer effect was found in dichloromethane fraction which had $IC_{50}$ value of $4.4{\mu}g/ml$ and > $4.0{\mu}g/ml$ against oral carcinoma(KB) cells and osteosarcoma(HOS) cells, respectively.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6301-6306
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• 2014

Cervical cancer is one the most common malignancies among females. In recent years, its incidence rate has shown a rising trend in some countries so that development of anticancer drugs for cervical cancer is an urgent priority. In our recent anticancer drug discovery screen, 1, 2-di (quinazolin-4-yl)diselane (LG003) was found to possess wide spectrum anticancer efficacy. In the present work, the in vitro anticancer activity of LG003 was evaluated in the SiHa cervical cancer cell line. Compared with commercial anticancer drugs 10-hydroxycamptothecin, epirubicin hydrochloride, taxol and oxaliplatin, LG003 showed better anticancer activity. Furthermore, inhibition effects were time- and dose-dependent. Morphological observation exhibited LG003 treatment results in apoptosis like shrinking and blebbing, and cell membrane damage. Lactate dehydrogenase release assay revealed that LG003 exerts such effects in SiHa cells through a physiology pathway rather than cytotoxicity, which suggests that title compound LG003 can be a potential candidate agent for cervical cancer.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.145-151
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• 2011

Backgrounds: Multidisciplinary approaches including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy are currently being performed to target various cancers in Western Medicine. However, some cancers still remain difficult to battle, which has long attracted many scientists for the discovery of new agents to fight cancers. Ginseng is one of the herbs used in Oriental Medicine including Korea, China and Japan. We have further investigated ginseng for its anticancer effect. Objective: This is a comprehensive review summary of anticancer effect of ginseng and ginsenoids as a possible agent for future cancer treatment. Methods: Data were retrieved from two web sites; www.pubmed.com and www.riss.kr, and authorized texts concerning anticancer effects of ginseng. From collected data, information on anticancer effect of ginseng was thoroughly sorted, restructured, then assessed. Results: Panax Ginseng C.A. Meyer belongs to Araliaceae Panax family, a perennial prairie plant with its root known as Ginseng Radix. Ginseng induces anticancer effect through cell cycle arrest, acceleration of apoptosis, anti-angiogenesis, and suppression of metastasis. Anticancer effect of ginseng may be due to single compound or multi-compound actions. Many studies report involvement of immune mechanisms of cytokines, Natural Killer (NK) cells, macrophages and some antibodies in enhancing anticancer effect of ginseng. In near future, possibility of applying these mechanisms into clinical trials is convinced. There were some important findings on saponin in ginsenoids in reviewing for this article; First, eradication of metastatic tumors were influenced by macrophage activation. Second, suppression of malignant melanoma cell metastasis to lung were induced by macrophage and NK cell activation in spleen with red ginseng acidic polysaccharide (RGAP). Third, final metabolites of M1, M4 had exerted anticancer effect of ginseng. Conclusion: Unknown anticancer mechanisms of ginseng have been studied for many years up until now. Ginseng is comprised of multiple bio-chemical compounds that create complex pharmaceutical interactions. Therefore, for its proper usage and safe prescription, studies on different types of ginseng and patients' susceptibility to ginseng according to their constitution and stages of the disease should be further pursued. More efforts are needed to understand the anticancer mechanisms of ginseng as well.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 2002.07a
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• pp.97-102
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• 2002

Life Science Research Center of SK Chemicals has developed a 3rd-generation anticancer platinum drug for the first time in the nation′s 100-year-old pharmaceutical industry. The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) approved the sale of "Sunpla" (code name SKI 2053R, general name : Heptaplatin) on July 14, 1999 for the treatment of advance, metastatic gastric cancer. Cisplatin, the 1 st-generation anticancer drug, which was developed by Bristol-Myers of the United States in 1976, is one of the most potent anticancer drugs and is a major component of combination chemotherapy for a variety of human cancers. However its clinical usefulness has frequently been limited not only by undesirable side effects such as severe renal toxicity, nausea, vomiting, ototoxicity, and neurotoxicity but also by the development of resistance. Carboplatin, the 2nd-generation anticancer platinum drug, which was also developed by Bristol-Myers in 1986, has modified the problems of the renal and gastrointestinal toxicities of cisplatin. Carboplatin, however, has no enhanced therapeutic efficacy over cisplatin and does not possess the property to overcome cross-resistance to cisplatin.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.315-321
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• 1995

An extensive anticancer drug screening from natural resources has been carried out primarily using murine tumor model for past fourty years. Recently a new screening program from NCI, so called disease-oriented screening system. has been estabished to detect anticancer drugs that show selective growth inhibition toward variety of tissue specific human solid tumors originated from leukemia, lung, colon, CNS, melanoma, ovarian, renal, prostate amd breast. To develope the anticancer drugs from oriental medicinal herbs, we investigated the cytotoxic effects against human tumor cell panels with 23 kinds of MeOH extract of medicinal herbs. Evodiae Fructus, Meliae Toosendan Fructus, Saussureae Radix and Pharbitidis Semen showed strong activities against several tumor cell lines.