• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.220-226
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• 2005

The present study was performed to evaluate combination effect of 7$\beta$-hydroxycholesterol (7$\beta$-OHC) and $\gamma$-radiation in NCI-H460 human lung cancer cells. 7$\beta$-OHC in combination with $\gamma$-irradiation has an enhanced effect in decreasing clonogenic survival and increasing cellular DNA damage. Pretreatment of cells with 7$\beta$-OHC enhanced radiation-induced apoptosis. Apoptosis of the cells by combined treatment of 7$\beta$-OHC and $\gamma$-irradiation was associated with reactive oxygen species generation and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, resulting in the activation of caspase 9 and caspase 3. The combined treatment also resulted in an increased G1 cell cycle distribution. These results indicate that 7$\beta$-OHC shows the additive effect of radiation sensitivity in human lung carcinoma cells in vitro.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.200-207
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• 2015

Various natural products or their derivatives, mostly originating from plants, fungi, and bacteria, have been exploited as therapeutic drugs to treat various human diseases. In addition to previously explored organisms, research on natural compounds has now expanded into unexamined living organisms in order to identify novel bioactive substances. Here, we determined whether or not the larval form of the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle, contains cytotoxic substances that exclusively affect cancer cell viability. Ethanol extract and its solvent partitioned fractions, hexane and ethyl acetate fractions, showed anticancer effects against various human cancer cells derived from the prostate (PC3 and 22Rv1), cervix (HeLa), liver (PLC/PRF5, HepG2, Hep3B, and SK-HEP-1), colon (HCT116), lung (NCI-H460), breast (MDA-MB231), and ovary (SKOV3). Cell death induced by the fractions was a mix of apoptosis, necrosis, and autophagy. The hexane fraction was administered intraperitoneally to nude mice bearing a hepatocellular carcinoma SK-HEP-1 and showed inhibition of tumor growth in vivo. Therefore, we concluded that worm extracts contain cytotoxic substances, which can be enriched by proper fractionation protocols, and further separation and purification could lead to the identification of novel molecules to treat human cancers.