• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.12-23
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• 2023

Purpose: This study investigates the alterations in A549 human non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells exposed to Citrus junos extract (CJE). We further examine the antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of CJE on NSCLC cells. Methods: Inhibition of proliferation was examined by applying the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) colorimetric assay on CJE-treated A549 NSCLC cells. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay was performed to measure the degree of toxicity of CJE on NSCLC cells. The effect on migratory proliferation was confirmed using the scratch wound healing assay. The antiproliferative effect of the CJE on human lung cancer cells was verified through morphological observation, fluorescence microscopy, and caspase-3 colorimetry. Results: Exposure of NSCLC cells to CJE resulted in a dose- and time-dependent decrease in cell activity and increased toxicity to the cells. In addition, microscopic observation revealed a reduced ability of the cancer cells to migrate and proliferate after exposure to the CJE, with simultaneous morphological apoptotic changes. Fluorescence staining and microscopic examination revealed that this death was a process of self-programmed cell death of NSCLC cells. Compared to unexposed NSCLC cells, the expression of caspase-3 was significantly increased in cells exposed to CJE. Conclusion: Exposure of A549 human NSCLC cells to CJE inhibits the proliferation, increases the cytotoxicity, and decreases the ability of cells to migrate and grow. Moreover, the expression of caspase-3 increases after CJE treatment, suggesting that the apoptosis of NSCLC cells is induced by a chain reaction initiated by caspase-3. These results indicate that Citrus junos is a potential therapeutic agent for human non-small-cell lung cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6343-6347
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• 2014

Multi-target drug design, in which drugs are designed as single molecules to simultaneously modulate multiple physiological targets, is an important strategy in the field of drug discovery. QT-011, a tamibarotene-furoxan derivative, was here prepared and proposed to exert synergistic effects on antileukemia by releasing nitric oxide and tamibarotene. Compared with tamibarotene itself, QT-011 displayed stronger antiproliferative effects on U937 and HL-60 cells and was more effective evaluated in a nude mice U937 xenograft model in vivo. In addition, QT-011 could release nitric oxide which might contribute to the antiproliferative activity. Autodocking assays showed that QT-011 fits well with the hydrophobic pocket of retinoic acid receptors. Taken together, these results suggest that QT-011 might be a highly effective derivative of tamibarotene and a potential candidate compound as antileukemia agent.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.55-67
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• 2019

The incidences of cancer are continuously increasing worldwide, affecting life of millions of people. Several factors associated with the internal and external environment are responsible for this deadly disease. The key internal determinants like abnormal hormonal regulation, genetic mutations and external determinants such as lifestyle and occupational factors enhances onset of cancer. From the ancient time, plants were remained as the most trusted source of medicine for the treatment of diverse disease conditions. Extensive studies have been performed for the discovery of effective anticancer agent from the plant and still it is going on. Pentacyclic triterpenoids are biologically active phytochemicals having a different range of activities such as anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, anti-hypertensive, antiulcerogenic and anti-tumor. These compounds generally contain ursane, oleanane, lupane and friedelane as a chief skeleton of pentacyclic triterpenoids which are generally present in higher plants. Isoprene unit, phytochemical, with good antitumor/anticancer activity is required for the biosynthesis of pentacyclic triterpenoids. Mechanisms such as cytotoxicity, DNA polymerase inhibition, regulation of apoptosis, change in signal transductions, interfere with angiogenesis and dedifferentiation, antiproliferative activity and metastasis inhibition are might be responsible for their anticancer effect. Present review spotlights diverse targets, mechanisms and pathways of pentacyclic triterpenoids responsible for anticancer effect.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.15
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• pp.6513-6519
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• 2015

Background: Recent attention on chemotherapeutic intervention against cancer has been focused on discovering and developing phytochemicals as anticancer agents with improved efficacy, low drug resistance and toxicity, low cost and limited adverse side effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of Curcuma C20-dialdehyde on growth, apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in colon and cervical cancer cell lines. Materials and Methods: Antiproliferative, apoptosis induction, and cell cycle arrest activities of Curcuma C20-dialdehyde were determined by WST cell proliferation assay, flow cytometric Alexa fluor 488-annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) staining and PI staining, respectively. Results: Curcuma C20 dialdehyde suppressed the proliferation of HCT116, HT29 and HeLa cells, with IC50 values of $65.4{\pm}1.74{\mu}g/ml$, $58.4{\pm}5.20{\mu}g/ml$ and $72.0{\pm}0.03{\mu}g/ml$, respectively, with 72 h exposure. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that percentages of early apoptotic cells increased in a dose-dependent manner upon exposure to Curcuma C20-dialdehyde. Furthermore, exposure to lower concentrations of this compound significantly induced cell cycle arrest at G1 phase for both HCT116 and HT29 cells, while higher concentrations increased sub-G1 populations. However, the concentrations used in this study could not induce cell cycle arrest but rather induced apoptotic cell death in HeLa cells. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the phytochemical Curcuma C20-dialdehyde may be a potential antineoplastic agent for colon and cervical cancer chemotherapy and/or chemoprevention. Further studies are needed to characterize the drug target or mode of action of the Curcuma C20-dialdehyde as an anticancer agent.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.273-282
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• 2017

Chemoprevention entails the use of synthetic agents or naturally occurring dietary phytochemicals to prevent cancer development and progression. One promising chemopreventive agent, procyanidin, is a naturally occurring polyphenol that exhibits beneficial health effects including anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, and antitumor activities. Currently, many preclinical reports suggest procyanidin as a promising lead compound for cancer prevention and treatment. As a potential anticancer agent, procyanidin has been shown to inhibit the proliferation of various cancer cells in "in vitro and in vivo". Procyanidin has numerous targets, many of which are components of intracellular signaling pathways, including proinflammatory mediators, regulators of cell survival and apoptosis, and angiogenic and metastatic mediators, and modulates a set of upstream kinases, transcription factors, and their regulators. Although remarkable progress characterizing the molecular mechanisms and targets underlying the anticancer properties of procyanidin has been made in the past decade, the chemopreventive targets or biomarkers of procyanidin action have not been completely elucidated. This review focuses on the apoptosis and tumor inhibitory effects of procyanidin with respect to its bioavailability.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.225-231
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• 2014

Autophagy is a homeostatic degradation process that is involved in tumor development and normal development. Autophagy is induced in cancer cells in response to chemotherapeutic agents, and inhibition of autophagy results in enhanced cancer cell death or survival. Chloroquine (CQ), an anti-malarial drug, is a lysosomotropic agent and is currently used as a potential anticancer agent as well as an autophagy inhibitor. Here, we evaluate the characteristics of these dual activities of CQ using human colorectal cancer cell line HCT15. The results show that CQ inhibited cell viability in dose- and time-dependent manner in the range between 20 to 80 uM, while CQ did not show any antiproliferative activity at 5 and 10 uM. Cotreatment of CQ with antitumor agent NVP-BEZ235, a dual inhibitor of PI3K/mTOR, rescued the cell viability at low concentrations meaning that CQ acted as an autophagy inhibitor, but CQ induced the lethal effect at high concentrations. Acridine orange staining revealed that CQ at high doses induced lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP). High doses of CQ produced cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cotreatment of antioxidants, such as NAC and trolox, with high doses of CQ rescued the cell viability. These results suggest that CQ may exert its dual activities, as autophagy inhibitor or LMP inducer, in concentration-dependent manner.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.749-761
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• 2022

This study evaluated the antioxidizing and antiproliferative effects of Angelica japonica extract and its solvent-partitioned fractions. A dried sample of the halophyte A. japonica was extracted twice using methylene chloride (CH₂Cl₂) and extracted twice again using methanol (MeOH). The combined crude extracts were then fractionated by solvent polarity into distilled water (water), n-butanol (n-BuOH), 85% aqueous methanol (85% aq.MeOH), and n-hexane fractions. The antioxidant activities of the crude extracts and their solvent-partitioned fractions were assessed according to their DPPH radical and peroxynitrite scavenging abilities, formation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA oxidation, NO production, and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). The crude extract showed significant antioxidant activity in the overall antioxidizing bioassay systems. Among solvent-partitioned fractions, good antioxidant activities were observed in n-BuOH and 85% aq.MeOH fractions and significantly correlated with the polyphenol and flavonoid contents of the samples. Furthermore, all samples tested, including the crude extract, not only showed cytotoxic effects against human cancer cells (AGS, HT-29, MCF-7, and HT-1080) but also prevented cell migration in a dose-dependent manner in the wound healing assay using HT 1080. Among the solvent-partitioned fractions, the 85% aq.MeOH fraction most effectively inhibited the invasion of HT-1080 cells. Therefore, these results suggest that A. japonica may be a potential antioxidizing and antiproliferative agent.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.2009-2014
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• 2012

Objective: Taspine, isolated from Radix et Rhizoma Leonticis has demosntrated potential proctiective effects against cancer. Tas13D, a novel taspine derivative synthetized by structure-based drug design, have been shown to possess interesting biological and pharmacological activities. The current study was designed to evaluate its antiproliferative activity and underlying mechanisms. Methods: Antiproliferative activity of tas13D was evaluated by xenograft in athymic mice in vivo, and by 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and cell migration assays with human liver cancer (SMMC-7721) cell lines in vitro. Docking between tas13D and VEGFR and EGFR was studied by with a Sybyl/Surflex module. VEGF and EGF and their receptor expression was determined by ELISA and real-time PCR methods, respectively. Results: Our present study showed that tas13D inhibited SMMC-7721 xenograft tumor growth, bound tightly with the active site of kinase domains of EGFR and VEGFR, and reduced SMMC-7721 cell proliferation (IC=34.7 ${\mu}mol/L$) and migration compared to negative controls. VEGF and EGF mRNAs were significantly reduced by tas13D treatment in a dose-dependent manner, along with VEGF and EGF production. Conclusion: The obtained results suggest that tas13D inhibits tumor growth and cell proliferation by inhibiting cell migration, downregulating mRNA expression of VEGF and EGF, and decreasing angiogenic factor production. Tas13D deserves further consideration as a chemotherapeutic agent.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.354-362
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• 2006

Dietary flavonoids have attracted a great deal of attention as agents for preventing estrogen-related diseases, such as postmenopausal symptoms, and for reducing the risk of estrogen-dependent cancer. Kaempferol is one of the most commonly found dietary phytoestrogen. The aim of this study was to investigate the estrogenic and/or antiestrogenic effect of kaempferol, which can confirm its potency as a preventive agent against estrogen-related diseases. Kaempferol has both estrogenic and antiestrogenic activity, which are biphasic response on estrogen receptor. The estrogenic activity of kaempferol induced via ER-mediated pathway depending on $E_2$ concentration $(\leq\;10^{-12}M)$. Kaempferol $(10^{-5}\;M)$ also caused antiproliferative effect on MCF-7 cell in the presence of $E_2\;(10^{-11}\;M)$ and restored to the addition of excess $E_2\;(10^{-7}\;M)$, which confirms that antiproliferation of kaempferol was induced via ER-dependent pathway. However, at $10^{-4}\;M$, concentration higher than the concentrations at which the estrogenic effects of kaempferol are detected $(10^{-5}\;M)$, kaempferol induced strong antiproliferative effect, but were unaffected by the addition of excess $E_2\;(10^{-7}\;M)$ indicating that kaempferol exerts antiproliferation via ER-independent pathway. In particular, kaempferol blocked the focus formation induced by $E_2$, which confirms that kaempferol might inhibit the malignant transformation caused by estrogens. Therefore, we suggested that kaempferol might regulate a suitable level of estrogenic activity in the body and is expected to have potential beneficial effects in preventing estrogen imbalance diseases (breast cancer, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and etc.).

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.363-368
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• 2006

EGCG [(-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate], a major component of green tea has been considered as a major antioxidant constituent. In addition to having been considered for cancer treatment as a chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent, EGCG has recently been attributed an anti-proliferative effect. We re-examined the latter finding in this study and added specific focus on the ability of EGCG to induce apoptosis in human osteogenic sarcoma (HOS) cells. Antiproliferative action of EGCG $(IC_{50}=35.3{\pm}6.0{\mu}g/mL)$ appeared to be linked to apoptotic cell death based on morphological changes, chromosomal DNA degradation, and an increase in the $sub-G_1$ apoptotic cell population. Treatment of HOS cells with EGCG gradually activated caspase-3, an established inducer of apoptotic cell death.