• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6979-6983
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• 2013

Background: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is categorized as premalignant lesion although its malignant potential is a matter of controversy. The objective of this study was to investigate Ki67 expression in OLP, oral epithelial dysplasia and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Materials and Methods: Expression of Ki67 was evaluated through immunohistochemistry (IHC) in groups of A (17 cases of epithelial hyperplasia), B (16 cases of OLP), C1 (10 cases of mild epithelial dysplasia), C2 (10 cases of severe epithelial dysplasia), D1 (10 cases of well-differentiated OSCC), and D2 (10 cases of poorly-differentiated OSCC). Results: There was a significant difference in Ki67 expression based on quantitative analysis among the six studied groups as well as group B compared bilaterally with groups C2, D1 and D2 (p< 0.0001). However, there was no significant difference between groups B and C1 or between groups D1 and D2 (p> 0.05). Conclusions: Based on the results of the present study it may not be possible to definitely consider malignant transformation potential for OLP. However, expression of Ki67 was significantly higher in OLP than that of epithelial hyperplasia with no significant difference from that of mild epithelial dysplasia. This should be considered by clinicians to carefully and regularly follow up OLP lesions to detect potential subtle changes at an early stage.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7221-7227
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• 2013

Background: Fascin, an actin-bundling protein forming actin bundles including filopodia and stress fibers, is overexpressed in multiple human epithelial cancers including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Previously we conducted a microarray experiment to analyze fascin knockdown by RNAi in ESCC. Method: In this study, the differentially expressed genes from mRNA expression profilomg of fascin knockdown were analyzed by multiple bioinformatics methods for a comprehensive understanding of the role of fascin. Results: Gene Ontology enrichment found terms associated with cytoskeleton organization, including cell adhesion, actin filament binding and actin cytoskeleton, which might be related to fascin function. Except GO categories, the differentially expressed genes were annotated by 45 functional categories from the Functional Annotation Chart of DAVID. Subpathway analysis showed thirty-nine pathways were disturbed by the differentially expressed genes, providing more detailed information than traditional pathway enrichment analysis. Two subpathways derivated from regulation of the actin cytoskeleton were shown. Promoter analysis results indicated distinguishing sequence patterns and transcription factors in response to the co-expression of downregulated or upregulated differentially expressed genes. MNB1A, c-ETS, GATA2 and Prrx2 potentially regulate the transcription of the downregulated gene set, while Arnt-Ahr, ZNF42, Ubx and TCF11-MafG might co-regulate the upregulated genes. Conclusions: This multiple bioinformatic analysis helps provide a comprehensive understanding of the roles of fascin after its knockdown in ESCC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1243-1249
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• 2016

Background: Expression of p53, cyclin D1, p21 (WAF1) and Ki-67 (MIB1) was evaluated in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) to test whether levels of these markers at invasive tumour fronts (ITFs) could predict the development of local recurrence. Materials and Methods: Archived paraffin-embedded specimens from 51 patients with T1/T2 tumours were stained immunohistochemically and analysed quantitatively. Local recurrence-free survival was tested with Kaplan-Meier survival plots (log-rank test) using median values to define low and high expression groups and with a Cox's proportional hazards model in which the expression scores were entered as continuous variables. Results: The assessment of expression of all markers was highly reliable, univariate analysis showing that patients with clear surgical margins, with low cyclin D1 and high p21 expression at the ITF had the best local recurrence-free survival. Multivariate analysis showed that these three parameters were independent prognostic factors but that neither p53 nor MIB1 expression were of prognostic value. Conclusions: Assessment of p53, cyclin D1, p21 (WAF1), and Ki-67 (MIB1) at the ITF could help to predict local recurrence in early stage oral squamous cell carcinoma cases.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6369-6374
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• 2012

Vitexicarpin (3', 5-dihydroxy-3, 4', 6, 7-tetramethoxyflavone), a polymethoxyflavone isolated from Viticis Fructus (Vitex rotundifolia Linne fil.), has long been used as an anti-inflammatory herb in traditional Chinese medicine. It has also been reported that vitexicarpin can inhibit the growth of various cancer cells. However, there is no report elucidating its effect on human prostate carcinoma cells. The aim of the present study was to examine the apoptotic induction activity of vitexicarpin on PC-3 cells and molecular mechanisms involved. MTT studies showed that vitexicarpin dose-dependently inhibited growth of PC-3 cells with an $IC_{50}{\sim}28.8{\mu}M$. Hoechst 33258 staining further revealed that vitexicarpin induced apoptotic cell death. The effect of vitexicarpin on PC-3 cells apoptosis was tested using prodium iodide (PI)/Annexin V-FITC double staining and flow cytometry. The results indicated that vitexicarpin induction of apoptotic cell death in PC-3 cells was accompanied by cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. Furthermore, our study demonstrated that vitexicarpin induction of PC-3 cell apoptosis was associated with upregulation of the proapoptotic protein Bax, and downregulation of antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2, release of Cytochrome c from mitochondria and decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. Our findings suggested that vitexicarpin may become a potential leading drug in the therapy of prostate carcinoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7603-7609
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• 2014

Glutathione is a thiol compound that plays an important role in the antioxidant defense system of the cell and its deficiency leads to an increased susceptibility to oxidative stress and, thus, progression of many disease states including head and neck cancer. In the present study, alterations of glutathione levels were investigated in study cohort of 500 samples (cohort 1 containing 200 head and neck cancer blood samples along with 200 healthy controls and cohort II with 50 head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tissue samples along with 50 control tissues) by high performance liquid chromatography. The results indicated that mean blood glutathione levels were significantly reduced in head and neck cancer patients (p<0.001) compared to respective controls. In contrast, the levels of glutathione total (p<0.05) and glutathione reduced (p<0.05) were significantly elevated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tissues compared to the adjacent cancer-free control tissues. In addition to this, pearson correlation performed to correlate different tissue glutathione levels (GSH) with clinical/pathological parameters demonstrated a significant negative correlation between pT-stage and GSH level ($r=-0.263^{**}$; p<0.01), C-stage and GSH level ($r=-0.335^{**}$; p<0.01), grade and GSH ($r=-0.329^{**}$; p<0.01) and grade versus redox index ($r=-0.213^{**}$; p<0.01) in HNSCC tissues. Our study suggests that dysregulation of glutathione levels in head and neck cancer has the potential to predict metastasis, and may serve as a prognostic marker.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.3293-3297
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• 2014

Background: Pine needle oil from crude extract of pine needles has anti-tumor effects, but the effective component is not known. Methods: In the present study, compounds from a steam distillation extract of pine needles were isolated and characterized. Alpha-pinene was identified as an active anti-proliferative compound on hepatoma carcinoma BEL-7402 cells using the MTT assay. Results: Further experiments showed that ${\alpha}$-pinene inhibited BEL-7402 cells by arresting cell growth in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle, downregulating Cdc25C mRNA and protein expression, and reducing cycle dependence on kinase 1(CDK1) activity. Conclusion: Taken together, these findings indicate that ${\alpha}$-pinene may be useful as a potential anti-tumor drug.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.1007-1014
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• 2017

To compare functional Chinese cabbage('Amtak' baechu; F1 hybrid cultivar between Brassica rapa and B. perkinensis, AB) with general Chinese cabbage ('Chunkwang' baechu; general spring cultivar, CB), two kinds of kimchi(ABK and CBK) prepared with AB and CB cultivar were fermented at $10^{\circ}C$ for 10 days. Their fermentative characteristics and anti-proliferative activities against mouse carcinoma cell lines were investigated. General kimchi(CBK) showed mature pH on the $6^{th}$ day of fermentation, whereas functional kimchi(ABK) reached pH on the $9^{th}$ day. CBK also exhibited acidity of mature stage on the $6^{th}$ day, but ABK reached mature acidity on the $9^{th}$ day. Although ABK and CBK were salted in the same condition, ABK had lower salinity than CBK, throughout the fermentation time. The highest total bacterial and lactic bacterial counts of CBK showed on the $8^{th}$ day of fermentation, but ABK showed the highest total bacterial and lactic bacterial counts on the $10^{th}$ day. The texture of ABK was harder than CBK for fermentation time. This seems to be corrleated with the slower fermentation rate of ABK. ABK showed significantly higher anti-proliferative activity (54.6% cell viability of control) in B16BL6 at $1,000{\mu}g/mL$. ABK was also higher in anti-proliferative activity than CBK throughout the fermentation time. However, there was no significant difference in the anti-proliferative activity of ABK between the fermentation times. In conclusion, fermentation of ABK showed a better texture, due to the slow fermentation rate and more anti-proliferative activity against mouse carcinoma cell line than those of CBK.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.93-106
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• 2003

Objective : To investigate the possible molecular mechanism(s) of melittin as a candidate of anti-cancer drug, we examined the effects of the compound on the growth of human lung carcinoma cell line A549. Methods: MTT, morphological changes, DAPI staining, Western blot, RT-PCR and in vitro prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) accumulation assays were performed. Results: The anti-proliferative effect by melittin treatment in A549 cells was associated with morphological changes such as membrane shrinking and cell rounding up. Melittin induced apoptotic cell death in a concentration-dependent manner, which was associated with inhibition or degradation of apoptotic target proteins such as ${\beta}$-catenin, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase(PARP) and phospholipase $C-{\gamma}1(PLC-{\gamma}1)$. Melittin treatment inhibited the expression of cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) and accumulation of PGE2 in aconcentration-dependent fashion. In addition, Melittin treatment induced the down-regulation of telomerase reverse transcriptase(hTERT) and proto-oncogene c-myc expression of A549 cells. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings suggest that melittin-induced inhibition of human lung cancer cell proliferation is associated with the induction of apoptotic cell death via regulation of several major growth regulatory gene products, and melittin may have therapeutic potential in human lung cancer.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1449-1455
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• 2004

Bufonis venenum (dried toad venom; Chinese name, Chan su) is a traditional Chinese medicine obtained from the skin venom gland of the toad. It has long been used in treating arrhythmia and other heart diseases in China and other Asian countries. Additionally, Bufonis venenum has been reported to selectively inhibit the growth of various lines of human cancer cells. In the present study, it was examined the effects of extract of Bufonis venenum (EBV) on the growth of human bladder carcinoma cell line T24 in order to investigate the anti-proliferative mechanism and induction of apoptosis by EBV. Treatment of T24 cells to EBV resulted in the growth inhibition, morphological change and induction of apoptotic cell death in a dose-dependent manner. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that EBV treatment caused G2/M phase arrest of the cell cycle and down-regulation of cyclin A, cyclin B1 and Cdc2, which was associated with a marked up-regulation of cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) inhibitor p21 (WAF1/CIP1) in a p53-independent manner. The Cdc25C expression was also significantly inhibited by EBV treatment, however Wee1 kinase expression was not affected. The induction of apoptotic cell death by EBV was connected with down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-XS/L expression without alteration pro-apoptotic Bax expression. Taken together, these findings suggest that EBV may be a potential chemotherapeutic agent for the control of human bladder carcinorma cells and further studies will be needed to identify the active compounds that confer the anti-cancer activity of EBV.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.104-114
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• 2024

Licochalcone C (LCC; PubChem CID:9840805), a chalcone compound originating from the root of Glycyrrhiza inflata, has shown anticancer activity against skin cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, and oral squamous cell carcinoma. However, the therapeutic potential of LCC in treating colorectal cancer (CRC) and its underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Chemotherapy for CRC is challenging because of the development of drug resistance. In this study, we examined the antiproliferative activity of LCC in human colorectal carcinoma HCT116 cells, oxaliplatin (Ox) sensitive and Ox-resistant HCT116 cells (HCT116-OxR). LCC significantly and selectively inhibited the growth of HCT116 and HCT116-OxR cells. An in vitro kinase assay showed that LCC inhibited the kinase activities of EGFR and AKT. Molecular docking simulations using AutoDock Vina indicated that LCC could be in ATP-binding pockets. Decreased phosphorylation of EGFR and AKT was observed in the LCC-treated cells. In addition, LCC induced cell cycle arrest by modulating the expression of cell cycle regulators p21, p27, cyclin B1, and cdc2. LCC treatment induced ROS generation in CRC cells, and the ROS induction was accompanied by the phosphorylation of JNK and p38 kinases. Moreover, LCC dysregulated mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and the disruption of MMP resulted in the release of cytochrome c into the cytoplasm and activation of caspases to execute apoptosis. Overall, LCC showed anticancer activity against both Ox-sensitive and Ox-resistant CRC cells by targeting EGFR and AKT, inducing ROS generation and disrupting MMP. Thus, LCC may be potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of Ox-resistant CRC cells.