• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.6-12
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• 2009

Thirty five methanol extracts from 19 natural local plants, which have been used as traditional anti-cancer medicine, were prepared. They were analyzed the cytotoxic effects on primary fibroblast cells and carcinoma cells. The root extract of Solanum nigrum were highly toxic in both cell lines with $IC_{50}$ values of less than $0.01{\mu}g/{\mu}l$, and 26 of 35 extracts were toxic in all cells with $IC_{50}$ values of $0.1{\sim}2{\mu}g/{\mu}l$. Three extracts including the fruit extracts of Solanum nigrum and Morus alba had no cytotoxic activity in both cell lines. Five of 35 extracts were highly toxic in cancer cells than in primary cells. Because primary cells were more resistant on these extracts, the five extracts were selected for anti-cancer agent candidates. Apoptosis or programmed cell death has an essential role in chemotherapy-induced tumor cell killing. Recently, inducers of apoptosis have been used in cancer therapy. When two of 5 cancer cell-specific cytotoxic extracts (Ulmus parvifolia and Zelkova serrata) were treated in concentration of $0.02{\sim}0.1{\mu}g/{\mu}l$, apoptosis were increased at 3-5 times in cancer cell lines. Finally, the apoptotic effects of these extracts were confirmed by cleavages of both poly-(ADP-ribose)-polymerase and caspase-3 as apoptotic markers. In this report, we suggested that two of 35 medicinal herb extracts can be useful anti-cancer drug candidates inducing apoptosis in several carcinoma cell lines.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.165-173
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• 2002

Purpose : Among numerous biological symptoms of cancer, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are essential for tumor invasion and metastasis. HAD is used as an inhibitor of MMP gene. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of HAD on anti metastasis and preventing recurrence in cancer patients. Materials and Methods : We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 69 cancer patients who had been administered with HAD for over 12 months continuously in East-West Cancer Center of Oriental Hospital of Daejeon University, from January 1993 to May 2002. Results : We analyzed gender, portion, stage and anti-metastasis & recurrence rates of cancer patients. Analysis of sex cases showed that the percentage of male is 62.3%, female is 37.7%. Analysis of cancer portion showed that the percentage of stomach is 31.9%, colorectum is 26.1%, lung is 21.7%, liver is 8.7%, breast is 8.7% Analysis of stage showed that the rate of III is 78.3%, IV is 13.0% and II is 8.7%. Analysis of anti-metastasis and recurrence rates showed that colorectal cancer is 77.8%, stomach cancer is 63.6%, lung cancer is 33.4% and breast cancer is 33.3% (mean : 53.6%). Conclusions : HAD has significant effects on anti-metastasis and preventing recurrence of tumor on cancer patients. So it helps to prolong the survival rates of cancer patients.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.310-319
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• 2005

Objectives: The aim is to identify any anti-tumor effects of Duchesnea indica(Andr.) Focke on colon cancer cells. Materials & Methods: Colo201 human adenocarcinoma cells were obtained from American Type Culture Collection. The boiled extract of Duchesnea indica(Andr.) Focke was added (10 and 20 microliters) to cultures and observed at 0, 6, and 12 hours, and at 12-hour intervals thereafter. Morphological changes in colon cancer cells were observed through an inverted microscope, Destruction of colon cancer cells was measured through Trypan blue exclusion testing. Suppression of the viability of colon cancer cells were measured via MTT assay. Anti-cancer mechanisms in the cell cycle of colon cancer cells were analysed via flow cytometry. Results: After introduction of Duchesnea indica(Andr.) Focke to cultures several changes were seen. Significant atrophy of the nucleus and cytoplasm of colon cancer cells was observed, indicating cell injury. Destruction of colon cancer cells was observed in direct proportion to dosage and duration. Suppression of viability of colon cancer cells for each test group was greater than that of the control group increasingly over time(36h, 48h, 60h, 72h), which was statistical significant (p<0.05). Cell numbers of the mitosis phase of the colon cancer cell cycle reduced. Conclusions: Statistcally significant anti-tumor effects of Duchesnea indica(Andr.) Focke were observed in this in vitro experiment. Results support a role for Duchesnea indica(Andr.) Focke in treatment of colon cancer. though it will required progressive research to develop a practical treatment.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.335-339
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• 2016

Background: The aim of this work was to investigate if serum and salivary auto-antibodies, isotypes IgG and IgM, against HER2 and MUC1 tandem repeat fragments could play a role in breast cancer screening. Materials and Methods: Our case-control study was conducted in breast cancer patients, in early stages (n=29), at the gynecology service, Maternity Souissi Hospital, Rabat, Morocco and healthy woman (n=31). Salivary and serum auto-antibodies against HER2 and MUC1 (tandem repeat) were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and compared between patients and healthy women using the Mann-Whitney U test. A P-value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Our data showed higher expression of all serum and salivary autoantibodies in patients as compared to healthy women p<0.05. However, serum IgM anti-MUC1 expression did not show a significant difference between cases and controls (p=0.79). Similarly, salivary IgG anti-HER2 expression did not differ (p=0.15). The correlation between the different isotypes of antibodies revealed that the highest correlation was between salivary IgG anti-HER2 and salivary IgG anti-MUC1(r=0.65). In fact, we have found in saliva the correlation between autoantibodies anti-MUC1 and anti-HER2 more important than in serum (r=0.59 and r=0. 55). However, the correlation between serum and saliva values for all antibodies was weak. Conclusions: Autoantibodies against HER2 and MUC1 may provide a useful approach in breast cancer screening when using both serum and saliva values.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.785-791
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• 2014

Crude extracts or phytochemicals obtained from some plants have potential anti-cancer properties. Teucrium persicum is an Iranian endemic plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family which has traditionally been used to relieve abdominal pains. However, the anti-cancer properties of this species of the Teucrium genus have not been investigated previously. In this study, we have used a highly invasive prostate cancer cell line, PC-3, which is an appropriate cell system to study anti-tumor properties of plants. A methanolic extract obtained from T persicum potently inhibited viability of PC-3 cells. The viability of SW480 colon and T47D breast cancer cells was also significantly decreased in the presence of the T persicum extract. Flow cytometry suggested that the reduction of cell viability was due to induction of apoptosis. In addition, the results of wound healing and gelatin zymography experiments supported anti-cell invasion activity of T persicum. Interestingly, sublethal concentrations of T persicum extract induced an epithelial-like morphology in a subpopulation of cells with an increase in E-Cadherin and ${\beta}$-Catenin protein levels at the cell membrane. These results strongly suggest that T persicum is a plant with very potent anti-tumor activity.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.305-309
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• 2007

Arsenic compounds have been used to treat various diseases including cancer in oriental medicine. Arsenic trioxide ($As_2O_3,\;Trisenox^{(R)}$) has been used for the treatment of leukemia and its anti-solid tumor activity has also been reported recently. Tetra-arsenic oxide ($As_4O_6,\;TetraAs^{(R)}$) is a newly developed arsenic compound which has shown an anticancer activity in some human cancer cell lines. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anti-gastric cancer potential of TetraAs and to search for an agent with synergistic interaction with TetraAs against human gastric cancers. We analysed anti-proliferative effect of TetraAs when given alone and in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents such as 5-FU, paclitaxel, and cisplatin in SNU-216, a human gastric cancer cell line. The $IC_{50}$ of these 4 anti-cancer drugs ranged from 5.8 nM to $7.5\;{\mu}M$ with a potency rank of order paclitaxel>TetraAs>cisplatin>5-FU. TetraAs showed 10-fold greater potency than 5-FU and cisplatin at the same effect level of $IC_{50}$. TetraAs+5-FU and TetraAs+paclitaxel showed synergistic and additive interaction, respectively. On the other hand, TetraAs with cisplatin group appeared to be strongly antagonistic. Apoptotic population was measured and compared between single and combination treatment. The apoptotic cells for the combination of TetraAs+5-FU showed significant increase compared to single TetraAs treatment. On the contrary, TetraAs+cisplatin showed less apoptotic cells compared to TetraAs or cisplatin alone treatment. Overall, our results indicate that TetraAs can be effectively combined with 5-FU or paclitaxel, but not with cisplatin for synergistic anti-cancer effect, which warrants further evaluation using in vivo models.

• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.48-56
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• 2022

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) secreted by most cells carry bioactive macromolecules including proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids for intercellular communication. Given that some immune cell-derived sEVs exhibit anti-cancer properties, these sEVs have received scientific attention for the development of novel anti-cancer immunotherapeutic agents. In this paper, we reviewed the latest advances concerning the biological roles of immune cell-derived sEVs for cancer therapy. sEVs derived from immune cells including dendritic cells (DCs), T cells, natural-killer (NK) cells, and macrophages are good candidates for sEV-based cancer therapy. Besides their role of cancer vaccines, DC-shed sEVs activated cytotoxic lymphocytes and killed tumor cells. sEVs isolated from NK cells and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells exhibited cytotoxicity against cancer cells. sEVs derived from CD8⁺ T and CD4⁺ T cells inhibited cancer-associated cells in tumor microenvironment (TME) and activated B cells, respectively. M1-macrophage-derived sEVs induced M2 to M1 repolarization and also created a pro-inflammatory environment. Hence, these sEVs, via mono or combination therapy, could be considered in the treatment of cancer patients in the future. In addition, sEVs derived from cytokine-stimulated immune cells or sEV engineering could improve their anti-tumor potency.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3735-3742
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• 2013

Background: Cardamom (Elettaria cardamom), also known as "Queen of Spices", has been traditionally used as a culinary ingredient due to its pleasant aroma and taste. In addition to this role, studies on cardamom have demonstrated cancer chemopreventive potential in in vitro and in vivo systems. Nevertheless, the precise poly-pharmacological nature of naturally occurring chemo-preventive compounds in cardamom has still not been fully demystified. Methods:In this study, an effort has been made to identify the proapoptopic, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, anti-invasive and anti-angiogenic targets of Cardamom's bioactive principles (eucalyptol, alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, d-limonene and geraniol) by employing a dual reverse virtual screening protocol. Experimentally proven target information of the bioactive principles was annotated from bioassay databases and compared with the virtually screened set of targets to evaluate the reliability of the computational identification. To study the molecular interaction pattern of the anti-tumor action, molecular docking simulation was performed with Auto Dock Pyrx. Interaction studies of binding pose of eucalyptol with Caspase 3 were conducted to obtain an insight into the interacting amino acids and their inter-molecular bondings. Results:A prioritized list of target proteins associated with multiple forms of cancer and ranked by their Fit Score (Pharm Mapper) and descending 3D score (Reverse Screen 3D) were obtained from the two independent inverse screening platforms. Molecular docking studies exploring the bioactive principle targeted action revealed that H- bonds and electrostatic interactions forms the chief contributing factor in inter-molecular interactions associated with anti-tumor activity. Eucalyptol binds to the Caspase 3 with a specific framework that is well-suited for nucleophilic attacks by polar residues inside the Caspase 3 catalytic site. Conclusion:This study revealed vital information about the poly-pharmacological anti-tumor mode-of-action of essential oils in cardamom. In addition, a probabilistic set of anti-tumor targets for cardamom was generated, which can be further confirmed by in vivo and in vitro experiments.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.116-125
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• 1998

This study was designed to find out the anti-cancer effects of two herbs using a folk remedy in Korea-The two herbs were A: Equisetum arvense L. (Seddugi), B: Eunymus alatus Siebold. (Hwasalnamoo) The experiment for the anti-cancer effects were conducted in mice and experimental groups were divided into normal(NO), standard (ST) and two other(A,B) groups for each herb and each of the two experimental groups consisted of three sub-groups(I, II, III) according to three different quantity doses of a folk remedy using five times and ten times the quantity of a commonly used in a folk remedy. The water soluble extracts of two herbs were orally administered to mice during six weeks followed by inoculation of the sarcoma-180 tumor cells into the peritoneal cavity. During experimental periods, the contents of ascites, abdominal organs were observed histopathologically. The results of effects on anticancer were as follows : 1. The survival time was significantly prolonged by the two herbs, especially in groups AII & BII.2. Body weight, circumference of the abdomen and contents of ascites at the time of sacrifice were noted and significantly decreased in groups AI, AII & BII. 3. Anti-cancer effects evaluated by the invasiveness and thickness of the tumor cells were noted in groups AIII & BII.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.71-80
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• 1999

Many mushrooms of toadstool were collected all over the Korea from March 1976 to September 1999. They were identified and classified into anti-cancer mushrooms of toadstool. According to the result they were composed of 12 families, 19 genera and 32 species. Among them, 26 species of mushroom of toadstool is experimented about how their anticancer function works in China. But untill now, there has not been any other studies for medcinal function in Korea.