Chloroform Extract of Solanum lyratum Induced G0/G1 Arrest via p21/p16 and Induced Apoptosis via Reactive Oxygen Species, Caspases and Mitochondrial Pathways in Human Oral Cancer Cell Lines

Gemcitabine resistance in non-small cell lung cancer is mediated through activation of the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB pathway and suppression of ERK signaling by reactive oxygen species

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Chemotherapy is a standard clinical treatment. However, tumor cells often develop multidrug resistance after chemotherapy, an inevitable bottleneck in cancer treatment. Therefore, this study used gemcitabine-resistant (GEM-R) CL1-0 lung cancer cells. First, we used flow cytometry and western blot analysis to examine differences in performance between resistant and parental cells. The results showed that compared with parental cells, GEM-R CL1-0 cells significantly enhanced the activation of the AKT pathway, which promoted survival and growth, and decreased the activation of the reactive oxygen species-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ROS)-ERK pathway. Next, the AKT and ERK pathways' role in tumor growth was further explored in vivo using a xenograft model. The results showed that enhancing AKT and inhibiting ERK activation reduced GEM-induced inhibition of tumor growth. Finally, combining the above results, we found that GEM-R CL1-0 cells showed reduced sensitivity to GEM by activating the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT/NF-kB pathway and inhibiting the ROS-ERK pathway leading to resistance against GEM. Therefore, the AKT and ERK pathways are potential targets for improving the sensitivity of cancer cells to anticancer drugs.

Phosphorylation of Bcl-2 by JNK confers gemcitabine resistance in lung cancer cells by reducing autophagy-mediated cell death

The most common cancer-related death in the world is non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Gemcitabine (GEM) is a common and effective first-line chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of NSCLC. However, the long-term use of chemotherapeutic drugs in patients usually induces cancer cell drug resistance, leading to poor survival, and prognosis. In this study, to observe and explore the key targets and potential mechanisms of NSCLC resistance to GEM, we first cultured lung cancer CL1-0 cells in a GEM-containing medium to induce CL1-0 cells to develop GEM resistance. Next, we compared protein expression between the parental and GEM-R CL1-0 cell groups. We observed significantly lower expression of autophagy-related proteins in GEM-R CL1-0 cells than in parental CL1-0 cells, indicating that autophagy is associated with GEM resistance in CL1-0 cells. Furthermore, a series of autophagy experiments revealed that GEM-R CL1-0 cells had significantly reduced GEM-induced c-Jun N-terminal kinase phosphorylation, which further affected the phosphorylation of Bcl-2, thereby reducing the dissociation of Bcl-2 and Beclin-1 and ultimately reducing the generation of GEM-induced autophagy-dependent cell death. Our findings suggest that altering the expression of autophagy is a promising therapeutic option for drug-resistant lung cancer.

Research progress on chemical components and pharmacological action of Solanum lyratum Thunb

OBJECTIVES

Solanum lyratum Thunb (SLT) is a perennial plant of the Solanaceae family, and is extensively used in the clinical practice of traditional Chinese medicine. Malaria, oedema, gonorrhoea, cancer, wind and fever, jaundiced hepatitis, cholecystitis and rheumatoid arthritis are among the diseases that it is used to treat. To offer a foundation for further development and usage of SLT, the pieces of literature about the chemical composition and pharmacological action of SLT were reviewed and analysed.

KEY FINDINGS

The chemical constituents of SLT mainly included steroids, alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, anthraquinones, phenylpropanoids and others. Pharmacological action mainly contains anti-tumour, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation and other pharmacological actions, among them, the anti-tumour effect is particularly outstanding.

SUMMARY

At present, studies on the pharmacological effects of SLT mainly focus on alkaloids and steroidal saponins. In the follow-up studies, studies on the pharmacological activities of other chemical components in SLT, such as flavonoids and terpenoids, should be strengthened. It has the potential to pave the way for more research and development of novel SLT medicines.

Nerolidol assists Cisplatin to induce early apoptosis in human laryngeal carcinoma Hep 2 cells through ROS and mitochondrial-mediated pathway: An in vitro and in silico view

The objective of this study was to examine Nerolidol (NER) and Cisplatin (CIS) performed against human laryngeal carcinoma (Hep 2) cells. We evaluated the effect of NER, CIS, and NER + CIS on cell viability, cell migration, oxidative stress, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, nuclear condensation, apoptotic induction, and DNA damage in Hep 2 cells. We used the MTT assay to assess the cytotoxicity effect of NER and CIS on Hep 2 cells in terms of morphological alterations. Present results demonstrated that IC₅₀ values of NER and CIS have potential cytotoxicity against Hep 2 cells. NER effectively inhibited cell viability, increased reactive oxygen species generation, apoptotic induction, and DNA damage in Hep 2 cells. In addition, the docking study evaluated the structural binding interaction of NER with PI3K/Akt and PCNA protein. Furthermore, NER with PI3K/Akt, PCNA has a higher crucial score and affinity. Present results infer that NER could be used to target signaling molecules in anticancer studies. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Nerolidol is a dietary phytochemical with high biological activity that can find in a variety of plants. Many researchers focused on Nerolidol to treat various diseases including cancer. However, there is no studies exist on laryngeal cancer. This study uses Nerolidol and Cisplatin to generate oxidative stress and stimulate apoptosis and DNA damage in human laryngeal cancer cells. Based on present findings, Nerolidol could be a choice of anticancer medication, either alone or in combination against oral squamous cell carcinomas in both in vitro and in vivo experimental systems.

Phytochemical and pharmacological studies on Solanum lyratum: a review

Solanum lyratum is one of the temperate plants, broadly distributed in Korea, China, Japan, India, and South-East Asia and well-documented in those oriental ethnic medicine systems for curing cancers, jaundice, edema, gonorrhea, cholecystitis, phlogosis, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. This review systematically summarized the research progress on S. lyratum respecting the botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology to increase people's in-depth understanding of this plant, by data retrieval in a series of online or off-line electronic databases as far as we can reach. Steroidal saponins and alkaloids, terpenoids, nitrogenous compounds, and flavonoid compounds are the main chemical constituents in S. lyratum. Among them, steroidal alkaloids and saponins are the major active ingredients ever found in S. lyratum, exerting activities of anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, anti-microbial, anti-allergy, and anti-oxidation in vivo or in vitro. As a result, S. lyratum has been frequently prescribed for the abovementioned therapeutic purposes, and there are substantial traditional and modern shreds of evidence of its use.

Bisdemethoxycurcumin suppresses human brain glioblastoma multiforme GBM 8401 cell migration and invasion via affecting NF-κB and MMP-2 and MMP-9 signaling pathway in vitro

Human glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the common cancer death in adults worldwide, and its metastasis will lead to difficult treatment. Finding compounds for future to develop treatment is urgent. Bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC), a natural product, was isolated from the rhizome of turmeric (Curcuma longa), which has been shown to against many human cancer cells. In the present study, we evaluated the antimetastasis activity of BDMC in human GBM cells. Cell proliferation, cell viability, cellular uptake, wound healing, migration and invasion, and western blotting were analyzed. Results indicated that BDMC at 1.5-3 μM significantly decreased the cell proliferation by MTT assay. BDMC showed the highest uptake by cells at 3 h. After treatment of BDMC at 12-48 h significantly inhibited cell motility in GBM 8401 cells by wound healing assay. BDMC suppressed cell migration and invasion at 24 and 48 h treatment by transwell chamber assay. BDMC significantly decreased the levels of proteins associated with PI3K/Akt, Ras/MEK/ERK pathways and resulted in the decrease in the expressions of NF-κB, MMP-2, MMP-9, and N-cadherin, leading to the inhibition of cell migration and invasion. These findings suggest that BDMC may be a potential candidate for the antimetastasis of human GBM cells in the future.

Cancer and apoptosis: The apoptotic activity of plant and marine natural products and their potential as targeted cancer therapeutics

Cancer is a multifactorial, multi-stage disease, including complex cascades of signaling pathways—the cell growth governed by dysregulated and abrupt cell division. Due to the complexity and multi-regulatory cancer progression, cancer is still a challenging disease to treat and survive. The screening of extracts and fractions from plants and marine species might lead to the discovery of more effective compounds for cancer therapeutics. The isolated compounds and reformed analogs were known as future prospective contenders for anti-cancer chemotherapy. For example, Taxol, a potent mitotic inhibitor discovered from Taxus brevifolia, suppresses cell growth and arrest, induces apoptosis, and inhibits proliferation. Similarly, marine sponges show remarkable tumor chemo preventive and chemotherapeutic potential. However, there is limited research to date. Several plants and marine-derived anti-cancer compounds having the property to induce apoptosis have been approved for clinical trials. The anti-cancer activity kills the cell and slows the growth of cancer cells. Among cell death mechanisms, apoptosis induction is a more profound mechanism of cell death triggered by naturally isolated anti-cancer agents. Evading apoptosis is the major hurdle in killing cancer cells, a mechanism mainly regulated as intrinsic and extrinsic. However, it is possible to modify the apoptosis-resistant phenotype of the cell by altering many of these mechanisms. Various extracts and fractions successfully induce apoptosis, cell-cycle modulation, apoptosis, and anti-proliferative activity. Therefore, there is a pressing need to develop new anti-cancer drugs of natural origins to reduce the effects on normal cells. Here, we’ve emphasized the most critical elements: i) A better understanding of cancer progression and development and its origins, ii) Molecular strategies to inhibit the cell proliferation/Carcino-genesis, iii) Critical regulators of cancer cell proliferation and development, iv) Signaling Pathways in Apoptosis: Potential Targets for targeted therapeutics, v) Why Apoptosis induction is mandatory for effective chemotherapy, vi) Plants extracts/fractions as potential apoptotic inducers, vii) Marine extracts as Apoptotic inducers, viii) Marine isolated Targeted compounds as Apoptotic inducers (FDA Approved/treatment Phase). This study provides a potential therapeutic option for cancer, although more clinical studies are needed to verify its efficacy in cancer chemotherapy.

Hidden in Plants-A Review of the Anticancer Potential of the Solanaceae Family in In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Many of the anticancer agents that are currently in use demonstrate severe side effects and encounter increasing resistance from the target cancer cells. Thus, despite significant advances in cancer therapy in recent decades, there is still a need to discover and develop new, alternative anticancer agents. The plant kingdom contains a range of phytochemicals that play important roles in the prevention and treatment of many diseases. The Solanaceae family is widely used in the treatment of various diseases, including cancer, due to its bioactive ingredient content. The purpose of this literature review is to highlight the antitumour activity of Solanaceae extracts-single isolated compounds and nanoparticles with extracts-and their synergistic effect with chemotherapeutic agents in various in vitro and in vivo cancer models. In addition, the biological properties of many plants of the Solanaceae family have not yet been investigated, which represents a challenge and an opportunity for future anticancer therapy.

The Most Competent Plant-Derived Natural Products for Targeting Apoptosis in Cancer Therapy

Cancer is a challenging problem for the global health community, and its increasing burden necessitates seeking novel and alternative therapies. Most cancers share six basic characteristics known as "cancer hallmarks", including uncontrolled proliferation, refractoriness to proliferation blockers, escaping apoptosis, unlimited proliferation, enhanced angiogenesis, and metastatic spread. Apoptosis, as one of the best-known programmed cell death processes, is generally promoted through two signaling pathways, including the intrinsic and extrinsic cascades. These pathways comprise several components that their alterations can render an apoptosis-resistance phenotype to the cell. Therefore, targeting more than one molecule in apoptotic pathways can be a novel and efficient approach for both identifying new anticancer therapeutics and preventing resistance to therapy. The main purpose of this review is to summarize data showing that various plant extracts and plant-derived molecules can activate both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis pathways in human cancer cells, making them attractive candidates in cancer treatment.

Sesquiterpenoids from the herbs of Solanum lyratum and their cytotoxicity on human hepatoma cells

Eleven sesquiterpenoids including four new eudesmane sesquiterpenoids, solanoids A-D (1-4), and seven known compounds (5-11) were isolated from the herbs of Solanum lyratum. By analyzing the UV, MS and NMR data, the gross structures of all isolates were established. The absolute configurations of these new compounds were determined by comparison of the experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. The in vitro cytotoxicity of all isolates against the hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B and HepG2 cell lines was evaluated. Among them, compounds 7 and 11 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against two cell lines.

Hedgehog pathway inhibition causes primary follicle atresia and decreases female germline stem cell proliferation capacity or stemness

Background

Follicle depletion is one of the causes of premature ovarian failure (POF) and primary ovarian insufficiency (POI). Hence, maintenance of a certain number of female germline stem cells (FGSCs) is optimal to produce oocytes and replenish the primordial follicle pool. The mechanism that regulates proliferation or stemness of FGSCs could contribute to restoring ovarian function, but it remains uncharacterized in postnatal mammalian ovaries. This study aims to investigate the mechanism by which inhibiting the activity of the hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway regulates follicle development and FGSC proliferation.

Methods and results

To understand the role of the Hh pathway in ovarian aging, we measured Hh signaling activity at different reproductive ages and the correlation between them in physiological and pathological mice. Furthermore, we evaluated the follicle number and development and the changes in FGSC proliferation or stemness after blocking the Hh pathway in vitro and in vivo. In addition, we aimed to explain one of the mechanisms for the FGSC phenotype changes induced by treatment with the Hh pathway-specific inhibitor GANT61 via oxidative stress and apoptosis. The results show that the activity of Hh signaling is decreased in the ovaries in physiological aging and POF models, which is consistent with the trend of expression levels of the germline stem cell markers Mvh and Oct4. In vitro, blocking the Hh pathway causes follicular developmental disorders and depletes ovarian germ cells and FGSCs after treating ovaries with GANT61. The proliferation or stemness of cultured primary FGSCs is reduced when Hh activity is blocked. Our results show that the antioxidative enzyme level and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax decrease, the expression level of caspase 3 increases, the mitochondrial membrane potential is abnormal, and ROS accumulate in this system.

Conclusions

We observed that the inhibition of the Hh signaling pathway with GANT61 could reduce primordial follicle number and decrease FGSC reproductive capacity or stemness through oxidative damage and apoptosis.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13287-019-1299-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Inhibitory Effect of Cuphea aequipetala Extracts on Murine B16F10 Melanoma In Vitro and In Vivo

Cuphea aequipetala (C. aequipetala) has been used in Mexican traditional medicine since prehispanic times to treat tumors. In this paper, we evaluated the antiproliferative and apoptotic effect of the methanolic and aqueous extracts of C. aequipetala on several cancer cell lines including the B16F10 cell line of murine melanoma and carried a murine model assay. In vitro assay analyzed the effect in the cellular cycle and several indicators of apoptosis, such as the caspase-3 activity, DNA fragmentation, phosphatidylserine exposure (Annexin-V), and induction of cell membrane permeabilization (propidium iodide) in the B16F10 cells. In vivo, groups of C57BL/6 female mice were subcutaneously injected with 5x10⁵ B16F10 cells and treated with 25 mg/mL of C. aequipetala extracts via oral. Aqueous and methanolic extracts showed a cytotoxic effect in MCF-7, HepG2, and B16F10 cell lines. The methanolic extract showed more antiproliferative effect with less concentration, and for this reason, the in vitro experiments were only continued with it. This extract was able to induce accumulation of cells on G1 phase of the cell cycle; moreover, it was able to induce DNA fragmentation and increase the activity of caspase-3 in B16F10 cells. On the other hand, in the murine model of melanoma, the aqueous extract showed a greater reduction of tumor size in comparison with the methanolic extract, showing an 80% reduction versus one of around 31%, both compared with the untreated control, indicating a better antitumor effect of C. aequipetala aqueous extract via oral administration. In conclusion, the in vitro data showed that both C. aequipetala extracts were able to induce cytotoxicity through the apoptosis pathway in B16F10 cells, and in vivo, the oral administration of aqueous extract reduces the melanoma tumoral mass, suggesting an important antitumoral effect and the perspective to search for effector molecules involved in it.

Curcuminoids Induce Reactive Oxygen Species and Autophagy to Enhance Apoptosis in Human Oral Cancer Cells

Numerous studies support the use of herbal medicine or natural products for chemotherapy in human cancers. Reports have associated curcumin (CUR), dimethoxy curcumin (DMC) and bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) with numerous biological activities including anticancer activities, but no available information have shown that these induced apoptotic cell death and autophagy in human oral cancer cells. In the present study, we investigated the effect of CUR, DMC and BDMC on the cell viability, apoptotic cell death, reactive oxygen species (ROS), Ca[Formula: see text], mitochondria membrane potential (MMP) and caspase activities using flow cytometry assay and autophagy by monodansylcadaverine (MDC) and acridine orange (AO) staining in human oral cancer SAS cells. Results indicated that CUR, DMC and BDMC decreased total viable cell number through the induction of cell autophagy and apoptosis in SAS cells. Cells were pretreated with N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), 3-methyladenine (3MA), rapamycin and carbobenzoxy-valyl-alanyl-aspartyl-[O-methyl]-fluoro-methylketone (Z-VAD-fmk) and then were treated with CUR, DMC and BDMC that led to increased total viable cell number when compared to CUR, DMC and BDMC treatments only. Results indicated induced apoptotic cell death through ROS, mitochondria-dependent pathway and induction of cell autophagy. Based on those observations, we suggest that CUR, DMC and BDMC could be used as a potential anticancer agent in human oral cancer.

Fisetin Induces Apoptosis of HSC3 Human Oral Cancer Cells Through Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Dysfunction of Mitochondria-mediated Signaling Pathways

BACKGROUND/AIM

Oral cancer has been reported to be one of the major cancer-related diseases in human populations and the treatment of oral cancer is still unsatisfied. Fisetin, is a flavonoid from plants and has several biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer function, but its cytotoxicity in human oral cancer cells is unknown. In the present study, we investigated fisetin-induced cytotoxic effects on HSC3 human oral cancer cells in vitro. Materials and Methods/Results: We used flow cytometric assay to show fisetin induced apoptotic cell death through increased reactive oxygen species and Ca²⁺, but reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential and increased caspase-8, -9 and -3 activities in HSC3 cells. Furthermore, we also used 4' 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining to show that fisetin induced chromatin condensation (apoptotic cell death), and Comet assay to show that fisetin induced DNA damage in HSC3 cells. Western blotting was used to examine the levels of apoptotic-associated protein and results indicated that fisetin increased expression of pro-apoptotic proteins such as B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) antagonist/killer (BAK) and BCL2-associated X (BAX) but reduced that of anti-apoptotic protein such as BCL2 and BCL-x, and increased the cleaved forms of caspase-3, -8 and -9, and cytochrome c, apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) and endonuclease G (ENDO G) in HSC3 cells. Confocal microscopy showed that fisetin increased the release of cytochrome c, AIF and ENDO G from mitochondria into the cytoplasm.

CONCLUSION

Based on these observations, we suggest that fisetin induces apoptotic cell death through endoplasmic reticulum stress- and mitochondria-dependent pathways.

Curcuminoids combined with gefitinib mediated apoptosis and autophagy of human oral cancer SAS cells in vitro and reduced tumor of SAS cell xenograft mice in vivo

Gefitinib has been used for cancer patients and curcumin (CUR), demethoxycurcumin (DMC), or bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) also shown to induce cancer cell apoptosis. However, no report shows the combination of gefitinib with, CUR, DMC, or BDMC induce cell apoptosis and autophagy in human oral cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of gefitinib with or without CUR, DMC, or BDMC co-treatment on the cell viability, apoptotic cell death, autophagy, mitochondria membrane potential (MMP), and caspase-3 activities by flow cytometry assay and autophagy by acridine orange (AO) staining in human oral cancer SAS cells. Results indicated that gefitinib co-treated with CUR, DMC, or BDMC decreased total viable cell number through the induction of cell apoptosis and autophagy and decreased the levels of MMP and increased caspase-3 activities in SAS cells. Western blotting indicated that gefitinib combined with CUR, DMC, or BDMC led to decrease Bcl-2 protein expression which is an antiapoptotic protein and to increase ATG5, Beclin 1, p62/SQSTM1, and LC3 expression that associated with cell autophagy in SAS cells. Gefitinib combined with CUR and DMC led to significantly reduce the tumor weights and volumes in SAS cell xenograft nude mice but did not affect the total body weights. Based on those observations, we suggest that the combination of gefitinib with CUR, DMC, and BDMC can be a potential anticancer agent for human oral cancer in future.

Quercetin induced apoptosis of human oral cancer SAS cells through mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum mediated signaling pathways

Oral cancer is a cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide and the treatment of oral cancer includes radiation, surgery and chemotherapy. Quercetin is a component from natural plant products and it has been demonstrated that quercetin is able to induce cytotoxic effects through induction of cell apoptosis in a number of human cancer cell lines. However, there is no available information to demonstrate that quercetin is able to induce apoptosis in human oral cancer cells. In the present study, the effect of quercetin on the cell death via the induction of apoptosis in human oral cancer SAS cells was investigated using flow cytometry, Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) double staining, western blotting and confocal laser microscopy examination, to test for cytotoxic effects at 6–48 h after treatment with quercetin. The rate of cell death increased with the duration of quercetin treatment based on the results of a cell viability assay, increased Annexin V/PI staining, increased reactive oxygen species and Ca²⁺ production, decreased the levels of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ_m), increased proportion of apoptotic cells and altered levels of apoptosis-associated protein expression in SAS cells. The results from western blotting revealed that quercetin increased Fas, Fas-Ligand, fas-associated protein with death domain and caspase-8, all of which associated with cell surface death receptor. Furthermore, quercetin increased the levels of activating transcription factor (ATF)-6α, ATF-6β and gastrin-releasing peptide-78 which indicated an increase in endoplasm reticulum stress, increased levels of the pro-apoptotic protein BH3 interacting-domain death antagonist, and decreased levels of anti-apoptotic proteins B-cell lymphoma (Bcl) 2 and Bcl-extra large which may have led to the decreases of ΔΨ_m. Additionally, confocal microscopy suggested that quercetin was able to increase the expression levels of cytochrome c, apoptosis-inducing factor and endonuclease G, which are associated with apoptotic pathways. Therefore, it is hypothesized that quercetin may potentially be used as a novel anti-cancer agent for the treatment of oral cancer in future.

Gypenosides induce cell death and alter gene expression in human oral cancer HSC-3 cells

Gypenosides (Gyp), the primary components of Gynostemma pentaphyllum Makino, have long been used as a Chinese herbal medicine. In the present study, the effects of Gyp on cell viability, the cell cycle, cell apoptosis, DNA damage and chromatin condensation were investigated in vitro using human oral cancer HSC-3 cells. The results of the present study indicated that Gyp induces cell death, G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis in HSC-3 cells in a dose-dependent manner. It was also demonstrated that Gyp decreased the depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential in a time-dependent manner. A cDNA microarray assay was performed and the results indicated that a number of genes were upregulated following Gyp treatment. The greatest increase was a 75.42-fold increase in the expression of GTP binding protein in skeletal muscle. Levels of the following proteins were also increased by Gyp: Serpine peptidase inhibitor, clade E, member 1 by 20.25-fold; ras homolog family member B by 18.04-fold, kelch repeat and BTB domain containing 8 by 15.22-fold; interleukin 11 by 14.96-fold; activating transcription factor 3 by 14.49-fold; cytochrome P450, family 1 by 14.44-fold; ADP-ribosylation factor-like 14 by 13.88-fold; transfer RNA selenocysteine 2 by 13.23-fold; and syntaxin 11 by 13.08-fold. However, the following genes were downregulated by GYP: Six-transmembrane epithelial antigen of prostate family member 4, 14.19-fold; γ-aminobutyric acid A receptor by 14.58-fold; transcriptional-regulating factor 1 by 14.69-fold; serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade B, member 13 by 14.71-fold; apolipoprotein L 1 by 14.85-fold; follistatin by 15.22-fold; uncharacterized LOC100506718; fibronectin leucine rich transmembrane protein 2 by 15.61-fold; microRNA 205 by 16.38-fold; neuregulin 1 by 19.69-fold; and G protein-coupled receptor 110 by 22.05-fold. These changes in gene expression illustrate the effects of Gyp at the genetic level and identify potential targets for oral cancer therapy.

Karyopherin α2 induces apoptosis in tongue squamous cell carcinoma CAL-27 cells through the p53 pathway

Tumor onset and progression are associated with dysfunction of the nuclear transport machinery at the level of import and export receptors. However, the role of Karyopherin α2 (KPNA2) in human tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) remains unknown. We assessed the proliferation, apoptosis and migration of TSCC CAL-27 cells using wound healing, Transwell and MTT assays, western blotting, electron microscopy and acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining following knockdown of KPNA2. The results revealed the antiproliferative, proapoptotic and anti-migratory effects of KPNA2 silencing on the TSCC CAL-27 cells. Moreover, the knockdown of KPNA2 proved to be accompanied by the upregulation of active caspase-3, cytochrome c, Bax, Bad and decreased expression of Bcl-2, p-Bad and XIAP. KPNA2 activated the caspase-dependent pathway in the CAL-27 cells with upregulation of p53, p21Cip1/Waf1 and p16INK4a. Thus, the present study demonstrated that p53/p21Cip1/Waf1/p16INK4a may be an important pathway involved in the function of KPNA2 in TSCC CAL-27 cells.

Sulforaphane Induces Cell Death Through G2/M Phase Arrest and Triggers Apoptosis in HCT 116 Human Colon Cancer Cells

Sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate, exists exclusively in cruciferous vegetables, and has been shown to possess potent antitumor and chemopreventive activity. However, there is no available information that shows SFN affecting human colon cancer HCT 116 cells. In the present study, we found that SFN induced cell morphological changes, which were photographed by contrast-phase microscopy, and decreased viability. SFN also induced G2/M phase arrest and cell apoptosis in HCT 116 cells, which were measured with flow cytometric assays. Western blotting indicated that SFN increased Cyclin A, cdk 2, Cyclin B and WEE1, but decreased Cdc 25C, cdk1 protein expressions that led to G2/M phase arrest. Apoptotic cell death was also confirmed by Annexin V/PI and DAPI staining and DNA gel electrophoresis in HCT 116 cells after exposure to SFN. The flow cytometric assay also showed that SFN induced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and Ca[Formula: see text] and decreased mitochondria membrane potential and increased caspase-8, -9 and -3 activities in HCT 116 cell. Western blotting also showed that SFN induced the release of cytochrome c, and AIF, which was confirmed by confocal microscopy examination. SFN induced ER stress-associated protein expression. Based on those observations, we suggest that SFN may be used as a novel anticancer agent for the treatment of human colon cancer in the future.