• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.5855-5860
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• 2013

Phytochemicals are among the natural chemopreventive agents with most potential for delaying, blocking or reversing the initiation and promotional events of carcinogenesis. They therefore offer cancer treatment strategies to reduce cancer related death. One such promising chemopreventive agent which has attracted considerable attention is sulforaphane (SFN), which exhibits anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, and anti-microbial properties. The present study was undertaken to assess effect of SFN alone and in combination with a chemotherapeutic agent, gemcitabine, on the proliferative potential of MCF-7 cells by cell viability assay and authenticated the results by nuclear morphological examination. Further we analyzed the modulation of expression of Bcl-2 and COX-2 on treatment of these cells with SFN by RT-PCR. SFN showed cytotoxic effects on MCF-7 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner via an apoptotic mode of cell death. In addition, a combinational treatment of SFN and gemcitabine on MCF-7 cells resulted in growth inhibition in a synergistic manner with a combination index (CI)<1. Notably, SFN was found to significantly downregulate the expression of Bcl-2, an anti-apoptotic gene, and COX-2, a gene involved in inflammation, in a time-dependent manner. These results indicate that SFN induces apoptosis and anti-inflammatory effects on MCF-7 cells via downregulation of Bcl-2 and COX-2 respectively. The combination of SFN and gemcitabine may potentiate the efficacy of gemcitabine and minimize the toxicity to normal cells. Taken together, SFN may be a potent anti-cancer agent for breast cancer treatment.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.286-291
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• 1996

Phenolic compounds are prevalent as toxins or environmental pollutants, but they are also widely used as drugs for various purpose including anticancer agent. A novel biphenolic compound, bis(2-hydroxy-3-tert-butyl-5-methylphenyl)methane (GERI-BPO02-A) was isolated from the fermentation broth of Aspergillus fumigatus F93 previously, and it has revealed cytotoxicity against human solid tumor cells. Its effective doses that cause 50% inhibition of cell growth in vitro against non-small cell lung cancer cell A549, ovarian cancer cell SK-OV-3, skin cancer cell SK-MEL-2 and central nerve system cancer cell XF498 were 8.24, 10.60, 8.83, $9.85\mug/ml$ respectively. GERI-BPO02-A has also revealed cytotoxicity against P-glycoproteinexpressed human colon cancer cell HCT15 and its multidrug-resistant subline HCT15/CL02, and its cytotoxicity was not affected by P-glycoprotein. We have also tested cytotoxicities of structurally related compounds of GERI-BPO02-A such as diphenylmethane, 1,1-bis(3,4dimethylphenyl)ethane, 2,2-diphenylpropane, 2-benzylpyridine, 3-benzylpyridine, $4,4^I-di-tert-butylphenyl$, bibenzyl, $2,2^I-dimethylbibenzyl$, cis-stilbene, trans-stilbene, 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxy-5-methylphenyisulfide, sulfadiazine and sulfisomidine for studying of structure and activity relationship, and from these data we could suppose that hydroxyl group of GERI-BPO02A conducted important role in its cytotoxicity.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 2012

Neural precursor cell-expressed developmentally down-regulated 8 (NEDD8), a ubiquitin-like protein, mainly functions through covalent ligation to cullin proteins. Conjugation of NEDD8 with cullins can promote ubiquitination, which plays a critical role in the degradation of many proteins. UBA3 is the subunit of NEDD8-activating enzyme which is one of the keys for NEDD8 linkage to cullin proteins. Previous research showed NEDD8 conjugation to be up-regulated in highly proliferative cell lines. In the present study, up-regulated NEDD8 conjugation was observed in melanoma cell lines by Western blot analysis. After down-regulation with a RNAi to UBA3, proliferation of M14 was suppressed in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, up-regulated NEDD8 conjugation may be involved in the development of melanoma. Interference in this pathway might offera promising method for melanoma therapy.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.3571-3575
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• 2012

A number of novel small molecules, safrole oxide derivatives 4a-c, 6a-c, 9a-h, were synthesized by the reaction of safrole oxide with anilines 3 and 5, or its alkyl allyl ether derivative 7 with alkyl bromide 8 in moderate yields. The antiproliferative effects of all the target molecules on A549 cell growth were investigated and it was found that the 14 novel compounds could suppress A549 lung cancer cell growth. Among them, compound 6b was the most effective compound in inhibiting the proliferation of A549 cells.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1787-1790
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• 2013

This study evaluated the effects of ZD1839, an orally active, selective epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) both in vitro and in vivo. Influence of ZD1839 alone or combined with cisplatin on the NPC cell line CNE2 was detected by MTT assay with flow cytometry assessment of cell cycle distribution and apoptosis rates. Nude mice NPC xenografts were also used to evaluate the effects of ZD1839 alone or combined with cisplatin. The Student's t test evaluated statistical significance. ZD1839 alone or combined with cisplatin inhibited CNE2 cell line proliferation. ZD1839 induced CNE2 cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase, and higher concentrations induced apoptosis. Xenograft tumors were significantly smaller when treated with 200 mg/kg ZD1839, cisplatin, or cisplatin combined with 100 mg/kg ZD1839 than untreated controls. ZD1839 (200 mg/kg) alone showed good tumor inhibition effects, reduction of tumor weights, and smaller tumor volume without loss of body weight. ZD1839 (200 mg/kg) might provide a good and effective therapeutic reagent for NPC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6273-6280
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• 2013

Goniothalamin, a natural compound extracted from Goniothalamus sp. belonging to the Annonacae family, possesses anticancer properties towards several tumor cell lines. This study focused on apoptosis induction by goniothalamin (GTN) in the Hela cervical cancer cell line. Cell growth inhibition was measured by MTT assay and the $IC_{50}$ value of goniothalamin was $3.2{\pm}0.72{\mu}g/ml$. Morphological changes and biochemical processes associated with apoptosis were evident on phase contrast microscopy and fluorescence microscopy. DNA fragmentation, DNA damage, caspase-9 activation and a large increase in the sub-G1 and S cell cycle phases confirmed the occurrence of apoptosis in a time-dependent manner. It could be concluded that goniothalamin show a promising cytotoxicity effect against cervical cancer cells (Hela) and the cell death mode induced by goniothalamin was apoptosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.5849-5854
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• 2013

Background: Apoptosis may be induced after Bcl-2 expression is inhibited in proliferative cancer cells. This study focused on the effect of autophagy activation by ABT737 on anti-tumor effects of epirubicin. Methods: Cytotoxic effects of ABT737 on the HepG2 liver cancer cell line were assessed by MTT assay and cell apoptosis through flow cytometry. Mitochondrial membrane potential was measured by fluorescence microscopy. Monodansylcadaverin (MDC) staining was used to detect activation of autophagy. Expression of p53, p62, LC3, and Beclin1, apoptotic or autophagy related proteins, was detected by Western blotting. Results: ABT737 and epirubicin induced growth inhibition in HepG2 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Both ABT737 and epirubicin alone could induce cell apoptosis with a reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential as well as increased apoptotic protein expression. Further increase of apoptosis was detected when HepG2 cells were co-treated with ABT373 and epirubicin. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that ABT373 or epirubicin ccould activate cell autophagy with elevated autophagosome formation, increased expression of autophagy related proteins and LC3 fluorescent puncta. Conclusions: ABT737 influences cancer cells through both apoptotic and autophagic mechanisms, and ABT737 may enhance the effects of epirubicin on HepG2 cells by activating autophagy and inducing apoptosis.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.763-771
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• 2020

Objectives: Erigeron bonariensis is a type of Erigeron found throughout the tropical and subtropical areas as one of the perennial plants or pioneer plants. It is known to show detoxifying, antipyretic, and anticancer effects for various cancers. However, there are no reports on the anticancer effect of E. bonariensis on oral cancer cells. In the present study, we investigated the effects of the methanol extract of Erigeron bonariensis (MEEB) on the inhibition of cell growth and induction of apoptosis in mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) cell lines, including the MC3 and YD15 oral cancer cells. Methods: MC3 Cells were treated by dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or methanol extracts of 20 various natural products 20 ㎍/mL for 48 hours and cell viability were analyzed as Trypan blue exclusion assay. The effects of MEEB treatment on the cell viability of MC3 and YD15 cells, for 48 h, were analyzed by Trypan blue exclusion assay. The anticancer efficacy and apoptosis of oral cancer cell lines were analyzed by western blot analysis. The statistical significance of differences between groups was analyzed by Student's two-tailed t-test. A value of P<0.05 compared to the vehicle control was considered statistically significant. Results: Among 20 different naturally derived products, MEEB significantly inhibited cell viability and increased cleaved poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP) protein in the MC3 and YD15 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Conclusions: These results suggest that MEEB can be used as a natural anticancer drug for the treatment of human oral cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3975-3978
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• 2013

Background: Proteases play a regulatory role in a variety of pathologies including cancer, pancreatitis, thromboembolic disorders, viral infections and many others. One of the possible strategies to combat these pathologies seems to be the use of protease inhibitors. LC-pi I, II, III and IV (Lavatera cashmerian-protease inhibitors) have been found in vitro to strongly inhibit trypsin, chymotrypsin and elastase, proteases contributing to tumour invasion and metastasis, indicated possible anticancer effects. The purpose of this study was to check in vitro anticancer activity of these four inhibitors on human lung cancer cell lines. Material and Methods: In order to assess whether these inhibitors induced in vitro cytoxicity, SRB assay was conducted with THP-1 (leukemia), NCIH322 (lung) and Colo205, HCT-116 (colon) lines. Results: LC-pi I significantly inhibited the cell proliferation of all cells tested and also LC-pi II was active in all except HCT-116. Inhibition of cell growth by LC-pi III and IV was negligible. $IC_{50}$ values of LC-pi I and II for NCIH322, were less compared to other cell lines suggesting that lung cancer cells are more inhibited. Conclusion: These investigations might point to future preventive as well as curative solutions using plant protease inhibitors for various cancers, especially in the lung, hence warranting their further investigation.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.513-519
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• 2012

Although the immense efforts have been made for cancer prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment, cancer morbidity and mortality has not been decreased during last forty years. Especially, lung cancer is top-ranked in cancer-associated human death. Therefore, effective strategy is strongly required for the management of lung cancer. In the present study, we found that novel daphnane diterpenoids, yuanhualine (YL), yuanhuahine (YH) and yuanhuagine (YG) isolated from the flower of Daphne genkwa (Thymelaeaceae), exhibited potent anti-proliferative activities against human lung A549 cells with the $IC_{50}$ values of 7.0, 15.2 and 24.7 nM, respectively. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the daphnane diterpenoids induced cell-cycle arrest in the G0/G1 as well as G2/M phase in A549 cells. The cell-cycle arrests were well correlated with the expression of checkpoint proteins including the up-regulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 and p53 and down-regulation of cyclin A, cyclin B1, cyclin E, cyclin dependent kinase 4, cdc2, phosphorylation of Rb and cMyc expression. In the analysis of signal transduction molecules, the daphnane diterpenoids suppressed the activation of Akt, STAT3 and Src in human lung cancer cells. The daphnane diterpenoids also exerted the potent anti-proliferative activity against anticancer-drug resistant cancer cells including gemcitabine-resistant A549, gefitinib-, erlotinib-resistant H292 cells. Synergistic effects in the growth inhibition were also observed when yuanhualine was combined with gemcitabine, gefitinib or erlotinib in A549 cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that the novel daphnane diterpenoids might provide lead candidates for the development of therapeutic agents for human lung cancers.