• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.815-822
• /
• 2012

Piceatannol (trans-3,4,3',5'-tetrahydroxystilbene), a natural stilbene, is an analogue of resveratrol. Although recent experimental data have revealed the health benefit potency of piceatannol, the molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-cancer activity have not yet been studied in detail. In the present study, the further possible mechanisms by which piceatannol exerts its pro-apoptotic action in cultured human lung cancer A549 cells were investigated. Exposure of A549 cells to piceatannol resulted in growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis. Apoptosis induction of A549 cells by piceatannol showed correlation with proteolytic activation of caspase-3, -8, and -9, and concomitant degradation of activated caspase-3 target proteins such as poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, phospholipase C-${\gamma}1$, ${\beta}$-catenin, and Inhibitor caspase-activated DNase. The increase in apoptosis by piceatannol treatment was also associated with an increase of pro-apoptotic Bax expression and decrease of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL expression, and caused down-regulation of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family members and up-regulation of Fas and Fas legend. In addition, piceatannol treatment markedly inhibited the expression of mRNA and proteins of inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase, and the levels of NO production were progressively down-regulated by piceatannol treatment in a dose-dependent fashion. The results indicate that piceatannol may have therapeutic potential against human gastric cancer cells.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
• /
• 2003.11a
• /
• pp.102-102
• /
• 2003

The inhibitors of prostaglandin biosynthesis and nitric oxide production by corresponding inducible isozyme have been considered as potential anti-inflammatory and cancer chemopreventive agents. In our continuous search for cancer chemopreventive agents from natural products, we have evaluated the inhibitory potential of PGE$_2$and NO production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mouse macrophage RAW264.7 cells. As a result, pinosylvin (3,5-dihydroxy-trans-stilbene), a stilbenoid, mainly found from the heartwood and leaves of the Pinus sylvestris, showed potential inhibitory activity of LPS-induced PGE$_2$and NO production in a dose-dependent manner. Pinosylvin also suppressed the LPS-induced iNOS protein expression. Further study revealed that pinosylvin exhibited antioxidant activity by the DPPH free radical scavenging potential and inhibitory effect of xanthine oxidase activity. In addition, pinosylvin inhibited COX -2 overexpressed human colon cancer cell (HT-29) growth in a time- and dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that pinosylvin might be a promising candidate for developing cancer chemopreventive agent.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.286-293
• /
• 2012

Resveratrol (3,4,5-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene), a phytoalexin found in grape skin, grape products, and peanuts as well as red wine, has been reported to have various biological and pharmacological properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-obesity effect of resveratrol-amplified grape skin extracts on adipocytes. The anti-obesity effects of grape skin extracts were investigated by measuring proliferation and differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells. The effect of grape skin ethanol extracts on cell proliferation was detected by the MTS assay. The morphological changes and degree of adipogenesis of preadipocyte 3T3-L1 cells were measured by Oil Red-O staining assay. Treatment with extracts of resveratrol-amplified grape skin decreased lipid accumulation and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity without affecting 3T3-L1 cell viability. Grape skin extract treatment resulted in significantly attenuated expression of key adipogenic transcription factors, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins, and their target genes (FAS, aP2, SCD-1, and LPL). These results indicate that resveratrol-amplified grape skin extracts may be useful for preventing obesity by regulating lipid metabolism.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.111-116
• /
• 2005

Resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene), a naturally occuring polyphenol compound which present in the skin of grapes and red wine has been considered to posses chemopreventive and antioxidant properties. However, little is known about the cellular actions by which resveratrol mediates its therapeutic effects. In this study, the effect of resveratrol on cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis in human osteogenic sarcoma (HOS) cells was investigated. $IC_{50}$ value was determined to be approximately $6.0{\mu}g/ml$. Chromosomal DNA framgmentation analysis showed the appearance degraded DNA in time-and dose-dependent manner upon treatment of resveratrol. In order to observe the molecular mechanism involved in resveratrol-induced apoptosis, Western blot analysis was performed. We observed the decrease in the level of procaspase-3, the zymogen form of active caspase-3 in resveratrol-treated cells. This result implies that caspase-3 is activated upon treatment of resveratrol. The activation of caspase-3 was confirmed by the cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Taken together, our data demonstrate that resveratrol has anti-proliferative effect on HOS cells and induced apoptosis through activation of caspase-3 and PARP cleavage.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.519-524
• /
• 2014

We have previously shown that 2,4,3',5'-tetramethoxystilbene (TMS), a trans-stilbene analogue, induces apoptosis in human cancer cells. However, the detailed mechanisms of mitochondria-dependent apoptosis induced by TMS are not fully understood. In the present study, the possible roles of annexin A5 in TMS-mediated apoptosis were investigated in MCF7 human breast cancer cells. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis and Western blot analysis showed that the expression of annexin A5 was strongly increased in TMS-treated cells. TMS caused a strong translocation of annexin A5 from cytosol into mitochondria. Confocal laser scanning microscopic analysis clearly showed that TMS induced translocation of annexin A5 into mitochondria. TMS increased the expression and oligomerization of voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) 1, which may promote mitochondria-dependent apoptosis through disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential. When cells were treated with TMS, the levels of Bax, and Bak as well as annexin A5 were strongly enhanced. Moreover, we found that the cytosolic release of apoptogenic factors such as cytochrome c, or apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) in mitochondria was markedly increased. Annexin A5 depletion by siRNA led to decreased proapoptotic factors such as Bax, Bak, and annexin A5. Taken together, our results indicate that annexin A5 may play an important role in TMS-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis through the regulation of proapoptotic proteins and VDAC1 expression.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.385-390
• /
• 2009

A resveratrol synthase (RS) gene was isolated from peanut (Arachis hypogaea, L. cv. Jinpoong) plants. This gene was placed under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter (CaMV35S) and introduced into two Korean varieties of potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cvs. Jasim and Jowon) plants by Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer. Putative transformants were screened by PCR with primers designed from CaMV 35S promoter, NOS terminator and RS gene. Most of selected transgenic potato plants showed the amplification of expected fragments by PCR of genomic DNA with gene-specific primers, while they were absent in untransformed control plants. Expression of the resveratrol synthase gene was also examined by northern blot analysis. The transformants showed a band which was lacking in the control plant, confirming that the introduced gene is transcribed into mRNA in the transformants. The strength of the band, which reflected the level of mRNA expression, differed among the individual transformants. Among the transformants obtained, the highest trans-resveratrol content in the transgenic young leaves of purple-fleshed "Jashim" was $2.11{\mu}gg^{-1}$ fresh weight and that in the microtubers in vitro of purple fleshed "Jashim" was $8.31{\mu}gg^{-1}$ fresh weight. This amount of resveratrol may have a positive biological effect on human health.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.9 no.5
• /
• pp.710-714
• /
• 1998

Organic electroluminescence devices (ELD) with hetero-junction structure were fabricated utilizing poly(p-phenylne vinylene) (PPV) as emitting layer and electron transport layer (ETL). 2-(4-biphenyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PBD) was used as an electron transport agent. Copolymers with stilbene type comonomers, such as poly(styrene-co-PVTS), poly(styrene-co-MeO-PVTS) and poly(styrene-co-MeO-ST) were synthesized to be used as a matrix polymer to disperse electron transport agent (PBD). Among the hetero-junction EL devices fabricated with the above materials, the device with poly(styrene-co-PVTS) as matrix polymer for ETL gave the highest luminance ($120.7cd/m^2$, 13 V). EL devices made with poly(styrene-co-MeO-PVTS) or poly(styrene-co-MeO-ST) matrix exhibited lower luminance than the one with polystyrene matrix and the single layer EL (ITO/PPV/Mg) device.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
• /
• 2002.10a
• /
• pp.312.3-313
• /
• 2002

Recently we have reported that various hydroxystilbenes show strong inhibition of human P450 1 activity. A series of synthetic trans-stilbene derivatives were prepared and their inhibitory potentials were evaluated with the bacterial membrane of recombinant human P450 1A1, 1A2 or 1B1 coexpressed with human NADPH-P450 reductase to find new candidates for cancer chemoprevention, Of the compounds tested. SY-021 (3.5-dimethoxyphenyl vinyl thiophene) exhibited a potent inhibition of human P450 181 with an IC$_{50}$ value of 2 nM. SY-021 also showed the inhibitrion of P450 1A1 with IC$_{50}$ value of 61 nM and P450 1A2 with IC$_{50}$ value of 11 nM. SY-021 showed 31-fold selectivity for P450 1B1 over P450 1A1 and 6-fold selectivity for P450 1B1 over 1A2. We have further investigated the inhibition kinetics of P450 1A1. 1A2 and 1B1 by SY-021. The modes of inhibition by SY-021were non-compeitive for all three P450 1 enzymes. Effect of preincubation with NADPH on inhibition of P450 1B1 by SY-021 was determined. These results suggest that SY-021 is one of the mostj potent inhibitor of human P450 1 enzymes and may be considered as a good candidate for a cancer chemopreventive agent in human

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.145-149
• /
• 2007

We have previously shown that 2,4,3',5'-tetramethoxystilbene (TMS), a synthetic trans-stilbene analogue acting as a potent inhibitor of human cytochrome P450 1B1, induces apoptotic cell death in human cancer cells. In the present studies, we report the mechanisms of apoptotic cell death by TMS in human promyelocytic leukemic HL-60 cells. We found that treatment of HL-60 cells with TMS suppressed the cell growth in a concentration-dependent manner with $IC_{50}$ value of about 0.8 ${\mu}M$. Immunoblot experiments revealed that DMHS-induced apoptosis was associated with cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. The release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytosol was significantly increased in response to TMS. TMS caused activation of caspase-3 in a concentration-dependent manner and TMS-mediated caspase-3 activation was partially prevented by the caspase inhibitor, zVAD-fmk. Interestingly, we found that the cytotoxic effect of anticancer drugs such as paclitaxel, docetaxel, or etoposide was enhanced in the presence of TMS. Simultaneous treatment with TCDD also significantly increased cytotoxic effects of TMS alone or TMS and anti-cancer agents. Taken together, our present results indicated that TMS leads to apoptotic cell death in HL-60 cells through activation of caspase-3 activity and release of cytochrome c into cytosol. The ability of TMS to increase cytotoxic effect of anticancer drugs may contribute to its usefulness for cancer chemotherapy.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.336-342
• /
• 2008

The resveratrol analogue piceatannol (3,5,3',4'-tetrahydroxy-trans-stilbene) is a polyphenol present in grapes and wine and reported to have anti-carcinogenic activities. To investigate the mechanism of anticarcinogenic activities of piceatannol, the effects on CYP 1 enzymes were determined in Escherichia coli membranes coexpressing recombinant human CYP1A1, CYP1A2 or CYP1B1 with human NADPH-P450 reductase. Piceatannol showed a strong inhibition of CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 in a concentration-dependent manner, and $IC_{50}$ of human CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 was 5.8 ${\mu}M$ and 16.6 ${\mu}M$, respectively. However, piceatannol did not inhibit CYP1A2 activity in the concentration of up to 100 ${\mu}M$. Piceatannol exhibited 3-fold selectivity for CYP1B1 over CYP1A1. The mode of inhibition of piceatannol was non-competitive for CYP1A1 and CYP1B1. The result that piceatannol did not inhibit CYP1B1-mediated $\alpha$-naphthoflavone ($\alpha$-NF) metabolism suggests piceatannol may act as a non-competitive inhibitor as well. In human prostate carcinoma PC-3 cells, piceatannol induces apoptosis and prevents Aktmediated signal pathway. Taken together, abilities of piceatannol to induce apoptotic cell death as well as CYP1 enzyme inhibition make this compound a useful tool for cancer chemoprevention.