The flavonoid component isorhamnetin in vitro inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in Eca-109 cells

Isorhamnetin is one member of flavonoid components which has been used in the treatment of heart disease. Recently the in vitro anti-cancer effect of isorhamnetin on human esophageal squamous carcinoma cell line Eca-109 was investigated in our lab. When Eca-109 cells were in vitro exposed to the graded doses of isorhamnetin (0-80 microg/ml) for 48 h, respectively, isorhamnetin exhibited cytostatic effect on the treated cells, with an IC(50) of 40+/-0.08 microg/ml as estimated by MTT assay. Inhibition on proliferation by isorhamnetin was detected by trypan blue exclusion assay, clone formation test, immunocytochemical assay of PCNA and (3)H-thymidine uptake analysis. Cell cycle distribution was measured by FCM. It was found that the viability of Eca-109 cells was significantly hampered by isorhamnetin. Compared with the negative control group, the treated group which was exposed to isorhamnetin had increased population in G(0)/G(1) phase from 74.6 to 84 while had a significant reduction in G(2)/M phase from 11.9 to 5.8. In addition to its cytostatic effect, isorhamnetin also showed stimulatory effect on apoptosis. Typical apoptotic morphology such as condensation and fragmentation of nuclei and blebbing membrane of the apoptotic cells could be observed through transmission electron microscope. Moreover, the sharp increase in apoptosis rate between the control and treated group were detected by FCM from 6.3 to 16.3. To explore the possible molecular mechanisms that underlie the growth inhibition and apoptosis stimulatory effects of isorhamnetin, the expressions of six proliferation- and death-related genes were detected by FCM. Expressions of bcl-2, c-myc and H-ras were downregulated whereas Bax, c-fos and p53 were upregulated. However, the in vivo experiments were required to further confirm the anti-cancer effects of isorhamnetin. In conclusion, isorhamnetin appears to be a potent drug against esophageal cancer due to its in vitro potential to not only inhibit proliferation but also induce apoptosis of Eca-109 cells.     

Design and synthesis of mono-and di-pyrazolyl-s-triazine derivatives,their anticancer profile in human cancer cell lines,and in vivo toxicity in zebrafish embryos

s-Triazine is considered a privileged structure, as it is found in several FDA-approved drugs. In the framework of our ongoing medicinal chemistry project based on the use of s-triazine as a scaffold, we synthesized a series of mono- and di-pyrazolyl-s-triazine derivatives and tested them against four human cancer cell lines, namely Human breast carcinoma (MCF 7 and MDA-MB-231), hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), colorectal carcinoma (LoVo), and leukemia (K562). The cell viability assay revealed that most of the s-triazine compounds induced cytotoxicity in all four types of human cancer cell lines, however, compounds 4a, and 6g, both of them have a piperidine moiety in their structure were most effective. These two compounds affected the cell viability of cancer cells, with IC₅₀ values within the range between 5 to 9 µM. The cell cycle analysis showed that 4a and 6g induced S and G2/M phase cell cycle arrest in K562 cells. This could be the mechanism by which these molecules induced cytotoxicity in tested cancer cells. The prepared compounds were tested in zebrafish embryos to evaluate in vivo and developmental toxicity of the pyrazolyl-s-triazine derivatives in animals. None of the derivatives were lethal in the concentration range tested.     

Matrine inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis via BID-mediated mitochondrial pathway in esophageal cancer cells

Matrine, as a member of Sophora family, is an alkaloid found in plants, and produces plethora pharmacological effects, including anti-cancer effects. However, the mechanism involved remains largely unknown. This study is conducted to investigate the anti-cancer mechanisms of matrine in human esophageal cancer in vitro and in vivo. In human esophageal cancer cell Eca-109, matrine significantly decreased the cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, and induced apoptosis as well as cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase by up-regulation of P53 and P21. The expression of several apoptosis-related proteins in cells and tumor tissues were evaluated by Western blot analysis. We found that matrine induced cell apoptosis by down-regulation of the ratio of BCL-2/BID and increasing activation of caspase-9. Further studies indicated that matrine induced apoptosis of Eca-109 was through the mitochondria-mediated internal pathway, but not by death receptor-mediated extrinsic apoptotic pathway, which was confirmed by the fact that Bid translocated from the nucleus to mitochondria during the process of the apoptosis induced by matrine. In vivo study found that matrine effectively inhibited the tumor formation of Eca-109 cells in nude mice. Our study suggests that matrine could serve as a potential novel agent from natural products to treat esophageal cancer.     

Increase of Bax/ Bcl-XL ratio and arrest of cell cycle by luteolin in immortalized human hepatoma cell line

Luteolin is a common constituent of many kinds of fruits and vegetables. It possesses the anti-neoplastic activities against several human cancers, but its activity against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is seldom mentioned. To evaluate the activity against HCC and to provide information about the mechanism, we tested luteolin against five human hepatoma cell lines, namely HepG2, SK-Hep-1, PLC/PRF/5, Hep3B, and HA22T/VGH, with XTT assay and flow cytometry. The results showed that luteolin inhibited PLC/PRF/5, Hep3B and HA22T/VGH at a concentration of 1 microg/ml, but it needed 5 microg/ml to inhibit HepG2 and 10 microg/ml for SK-Hep1 (P <0.05). The inhibitive concentrations of 50% (IC50) of luteolin were between 7.29 microg/ml and 32.59 microg/ml, which were comparable with those of 5-FU (15.35 microg/ml to 32.84 microg/ml). The least effective cell line as affected by luteolin (SK-Hep1) was the most effective one when treating with 5-FU. The least effective cell line as affected by 5-FU (HA22T/VGH) was effectively affected by luteolin. It seemed that luteolin had some complementary activity to 5-FU against these HCC cell lines. The luteolin-treated PLC/PRF/5 cells exhibited typical changes of apoptosis with a characteristic DNA laddering pattern on gel electrophoresis. Luteolin also activated casepase-3, increased Bax protein with a concomitant decrease in Bcl-XL level. Increase in Bax/ Bcl-XL ratio and activation of caspase-3 supported the apoptotic finding on gel electrophoresis. Luteolin also induced cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase. We suggested that luteolin might exhibit anti-HCC activity as efficient as 5-FU by the mechanism of not only cell cycle arrest but also apoptosis.     

p53-Independent Apoptosis and p53-Dependent Block of DNA Rereplication Following Mitotic Spindle Inhibition in Human Cells

We have studied the response of human transformed cells to mitotic spindle inhibition. Two paired cell lines, K562 and its parvovirus-resistant KS derivative clone, respectively nonexpressing and expressing p53, were continuously exposed to nocodazole. Apoptotic cells were observed in both lines, indicating that mitotic spindle impairment induced p53-independent apoptosis. After a transient mitotic delay, both cell lines exited mitosis, as revealed by flow-cytometric determination of MPM2 antigen and cyclin B1 expression, coupled to cytogenetic analysis of sister centromere separation. Both cell lines exited mitosis without chromatid segregation. K562 p53-deficient cells further resumed DNA synthesis, giving rise to cells with a DNA content above 4C, and reentered a polyploid cycle. In contrast, KS cells underwent a subsequent G1 arrest in the tetraploid state. Thus, G1 arrest in tetraploid cells requires p53 function in the rereplication checkpoint which prevents the G1/S transition following aberrant mitosis; in contrast, p53 expression is dispensable for triggering the apoptotic response in the absence of mitotic spindle.     

A novel disintegrin protein from Naja naja venom induces cytotoxicity and apoptosis in human cancer cell lines in vitro

Animal venoms and toxins are potential bioresources that have been known to mankind as a therapeutic tool for more than a century through folk and traditional medicine. The purified “disintegrin protein” (64 kDa) from the venom of the Indian cobra snake (Naja naja) exhibited cytotoxic effects of various types of human cancer cell lines such as breast cancer (MCF-7), lung cancer (A549) and liver cancer (HepG2). In vitro cytotoxicity, DNA fragmentation, an apoptotic assay and a cell cycle analysis were performed to evaluate the anticancer activity of disintegrin against the above cell lines. The IC₅₀ value of disintegrin was determined to be 2.5 ± 0.5 μg/mL, 3.5 ± 0.5 μg/mL, and 3 ± 0.5 μg/mL for the MCF-7, A549 and HepG2 cell lines respectively. Moreover, the increased distribution of G0/G1 and S phase led to decreased populations of cells in the G2/M phase of MCF-7, HepG2 and A549 cells.     

Induction of G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis by a novel enediyne derivative, THDA, in chronic myeloid leukemia (K562) cells

We studied the effect of 2-(6-(2-thieanisyl)-3(Z)-hexen-1,5-diynyl)aniline(THDA), a newly developed anti-cancer agent, on cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, and induction of apoptosis in K562 cells. THDA was found to inhibit the growth of K562 cells in a time-and dose-dependent manner. Cell cycle analysis showed G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis in K562 cells following 24 h exposure to THDA. During the G2/M arrest, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CDKIs), p21 and p27 were increased in a time-dependent manner. Analysis of the cell cycle regulatory proteins demonstrated that THDA did not change the steady-state levels of cyclin B1, cyclin D3 and Cdc25C, but decreased the protein levels of Cdk1, Cdk2 and cyclin A. THDA also caused a marked increase in apoptosis, which was associated with activation of caspase-3 and proteolytic cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. These molecular alterations provide an insight into THDA-caused growth inhibition, G2/M arrest and apoptotic death of K562 cells.     

敲除LSD1基因对人慢性髓系白血病K562细胞周期的影响

为了探讨敲除LSD1基因后抑制人慢性髓系白血病 K562细胞增殖的原因,使用前期CRISPR/Cas9技术构建的人慢性髓系白血病 K562 LSD1基因敲除株,通过细胞凋亡Annexin V/PI（碘化丙啶）双染色、细胞PI染色以及流式细胞术技术,探究敲除LSD1基因后,K562细胞的凋亡水平是否改变,细胞周期是否受到影响。结果表明敲除LSD1基因后K562细胞被阻滞在G0/G1期,进入DNA复制期的细胞变少,因此导致细胞增殖速度减慢;通过细胞凋亡Annexin V/PI双染色并分析早期以及晚期凋亡细胞总比例,显示敲除LSD1基因后,不影响K562细胞的凋亡。研究结果表明,敲除LSD1基因后人慢性髓系白血病 K562细胞的增殖受到抑制,这是由于K562细胞增殖周期发生了改变,进入DNA复制期和分裂期的细胞减少;而与细胞凋亡水平的变化无关。     

Cytotoxic Activity and Apoptosis-Inducing Potential of Di-spiropyrrolidino and Di-spiropyrrolizidino Oxindole Andrographolide Derivatives

Anticancer role of andrographolide is well documented. To find novel potent derivatives with improved cytotoxicity than andrographolide on cancer cells, two series of di-spiropyrrolidino- and di-spiropyrrolizidino oxindole andrographolide derivatives prepared by cyclo-addition of azomethine ylide along with sarcosine or proline (viz. sarcosine and proline series respectively) and substitution of different functional groups (-CH3, -OCH3 and halogens) were examined for their cytotoxic effect on a panel of six human cancer cell lines (colorectal carcinoma HCT116 cells, pancreatic carcinoma MiaPaCa-2 cells, hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells, cervical carcinoma HeLa cells, lung carcinoma A549 and melanoma A375 cells). Except halogen substituted derivatives of proline series (viz. CY2, CY14 and CY15 for Br, Cl and I substitution respectively), none of the other derivatives showed improved cytotoxicity than andrographolide in the cancer cell lines examined. Order of cytotoxicity of the potent compounds is CY2>CY14>CY15>andrographolide. Higher toxicity was observed in HCT116, MiaPaCa-2 and HepG2 cells. CY2, induced death of HCT116 (GI₅₀ 10.5), MiaPaCa-2 (GI₅₀ 11.2) and HepG2 (GI₅₀ 16.6) cells were associated with cell rounding, nuclear fragmentation and increased percentage of apoptotic cells, cell cycle arrest at G1 phase, ROS generation, and involvement of mitochondrial pathway. Upregulation of Bax, Bad, p53, caspases-3,-9 and cleaved PARP; downregulation of Bcl-2, cytosolic NF-κB p65, PI3K and p-Akt; translocation of P53/P21, NF-κB p65 were seen in CY2 treated HCT116 cells. Thus, three halogenated di-spiropyrrolizidino oxindole derivatives of andrographolide are found to be more cytotoxic than andrographolide in some cancer cells. The most potent derivative, CY2 induced death of the cancer cells involves ROS dependent mitochondrial pathway like andrographolide.     

Glutathione depletion restores the susceptibility of cisplatin-resistant chronic myelogenous leukemia cell lines to Natural Killer cell-mediated cell death via necrosis rather than apoptosis

We investigated the effect of intracellular glutathione (GSH) levels on Natural Killer-mediated apoptosis in cisplatin-resistant K562 cells. K562/B6 and K562/C9 are cisplatin-resistant K562 cells less susceptible to lysis by natural killer cells. Cisplatin-resistant K562 cells did not present the apoptotic pattern of DNA fragmentation as it was observed for their maternal counterparts. K562/B6 and K562/C9 cell lines produce 1.6- and 1.9-times more GSH than K562 cells. Treatment of both cell lines with D,L-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO, a gamma-glutamyl cysteine synthetase inhibitor) decreased GSH levels and augmented cell death induced by NK cells via a necrotic rather than an apoptotic process. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression was elevated in cisplatin-resistant K562 subclones, and the reduction of GSH levels after treatment with BSO decreased the expression of PCNA. These results suggest that the GSH level affects the NK cell-mediated cell death of cisplatin-resistant K562 cells by inducing necrosis rather than apoptosis.     

Menin interacts directly with the homeobox-containing protein Pem

Scalarane-type sesterterpenes, PHC-1-PHC-7, which have been isolated from a marine sponge, increased hemoglobin production in human chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line K562 at the concentration of 0.1-5 microg/ml. PHC-1, the major constituent, induced the expression of glycophorin A and the enucleation for K562 cells. These sesterterpenes were found to induce erythroid differentiation in K562 cells. In addition, PHC-1 induced G1 arrest of the cell cycle of K562 cells.     

Synthesis and antitumor activity of 1-mesityl-3-(2-naphthoylmethano)-1H-imidazolium bromide

An imidazolium salt, 1-mesityl-3-(2-naphthoylmethano)-1H-imidazolium bromide (MNIB), has been investigated for its antitumor properties. In vitro studies demonstrate that MNIB is active against K562, SMMC-7721, EJ, AGZY, HEP-2, A549, HepG2, and Raji tumor cells, and can induce the G1 phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in K562 cells. Moreover, administration of MNIB significantly inhibited tumor growth in human non-small lung tumor (A549) xenografts.     

Selective cytotoxicity of 3-amino-l-tyrosine correlates with peroxidase activity

Summary In the presence of 3-amino-l-tyrosine (3-AT), abundant brown pigment forms in human HL-60 cells, but not in a variety of other cell lines, which are reported to be lower in mean myeloperoxidase (MPO) content than HL-60. Cells were assessed for peroxidase activity with an ABTS-based colorimetric assay and compared to values obtained with known amounts of human myeloperoxidase. HL-60 cells were estimated to contain the equivalent of 37.1 ng myeloperoxidase/10⁶ cells versus 26.1 and 5.0 ng/10⁶ cells for human K562 and murine RAW 264.7 cell lines, respectively. HL-60 cells exhibited a nearly 60% inhibition of proliferation and >70% reduction in cell viability after 4 d of culture in the presence of 100 μg 3-AT per ml. Higher concentrations of 3-AT (up to 400 μg/ml) for 4 d reduced HL-60 proliferation by 80% and decreased viability to 1–3%. Comparable levels of cytotoxicity were achieved in KG-1 cells after 7 d with 200 or 400 μg 3-AT per ml. K562 cells exhibited a 40% reduction in cell number after 7 d with 400 μg 3-AT per ml, but concentrations less than 400 μg/ml did not significantly affect K562 proliferation. K562 viability remained unchanged with doses of 3-AT up to 400 μg/ml. RAW 264.7 cells exhibited unchanged viability and proliferation in the presence of 3-AT at concentrations up to 400 μg 3-AT per ml. K562, KG-1, and RAW 264.7 cells exhibited no evidence of brown pigment formation in the presence of 3-AT and medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum. However, RAW 264.7 cells that were converted to protein-free medium and exposed to 3-AT exhibited intense brown pigment in some cell nuclei. A high percentage of HL-60 cells treated with 3-AT exhibited membrane blebbing, pyknosis, and nuclear fragmentation, which was not observed among other 3-AT-treated cell lines. A mechanism involving toxic intermediates of peroxidase-mediated “aminomelanin” formation is hypothesized.     

Cytotoxic and apoptosis-inducing properties of auriculoside A in tumor cells

The C21-steroidal glycoside auriculoside A (1), recently isolated from the roots of Cynanchum auriculatum, was found to inhibit the growth of several human tumor cell lines and to induce apoptosis in human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells. Compound 1 was evaluated for its in vitro cytotoxicity against MCF-7, HO-8910, and Bel-7402 cells, and for its in vivo antitumor effects on implanted sarcoma-180 (S180) tumors in mice. It showed significant, concentration-dependent inhibition of the cancer cells, both in vitro and in vivo. MCF-7 Cells exposed to 1 displayed typical morphological apoptosis characteristics such as cytoplasm contraction and nuclear-chromatin condensation. Flow-cytometric analysis showed that the MCF-7 cell cycle was arrested at the G0/G1 phase. When treated with 40 microg/ml of 1 for 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively, the apoptotic rates of the cells were ca. 5, 8, and 18.5%, respectively.     

Synthesis and evaluation of cytotoxic effects of novel α-methylenelactone tetracyclic diterpenoids

A series of tetracyclic diterpenoids bearing the α-methylenelactone group have been synthesized and screened for their in vitro anti-tumor activities against six human cancer cell lines. The results showed that compounds 1c, 2a and 2b exhibited significant cytotoxicity superior to the positive control doxorubicin hydrochloride against MDA-MB-231, K562 and HepG2 cell lines. In particular, compound 2b was identified as the most promising anticancer agent against HepG2 cells with IC(50) value of 0.09μM.     

Tocotrienol-rich fraction of palm oil induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis selectively in human prostate cancer cells

One of the requisite of cancer chemopreventive agent is elimination of damaged or malignant cells through cell cycle inhibition or induction of apoptosis without affecting normal cells. In this study, employing normal human prostate epithelial cells (PrEC), virally transformed normal human prostate epithelial cells (PZ-HPV-7), and human prostate cancer cells (LNCaP, DU145, and PC-3), we evaluated the growth-inhibitory and apoptotic effects of tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) extracted from palm oil. TRF treatment to PrEC and PZ-HPV-7 resulted in almost identical growth-inhibitory responses of low magnitude. In sharp contrast, TRF treatment resulted in significant decreases in cell viability and colony formation in all three prostate cancer cell lines. The IC(50) values after 24h TRF treatment in LNCaP, PC-3, and DU145 cells were in the order 16.5, 17.5, and 22.0 microg/ml. TRF treatment resulted in significant apoptosis in all the cell lines as evident from (i) DNA fragmentation, (ii) fluorescence microscopy, and (iii) cell death detection ELISA, whereas the PrEC and PZ-HPV-7 cells did not undergo apoptosis, but showed modestly decreased cell viability only at a high dose of 80 microg/ml. In cell cycle analysis, TRF (10-40 microg/ml) resulted in a dose-dependent G0/G1 phase arrest and sub G1 accumulation in all three cancer cell lines but not in PZ-HPV-7 cells. These results suggest that the palm oil derivative TRF is capable of selectively inhibiting cellular proliferation and accelerating apoptotic events in prostate cancer cells. TRF offers significant promise as a chemopreventive and/or therapeutic agent against prostate cancer.     

Distamycin A enhances the cytotoxicity of duocarmycin A and suppresses duocarmycin A-induced apoptosis in human lung carcinoma cells

Duocarmycin A (Duo), which is one of well-known antitumor antibiotics, efficiently alkylates adenine N3 at the 3' end of AT-rich sequences in the DNA. The addition of a minor groove binder, distamycin A (Dist), not only accerelates the reactivity of Duo with oligonucleotide duplex but also switches the DNA-alkylation site to guanine in GC-rich sequences. Here we examined cytotoxic effect of Duo in the coexistence of Dist using human lung carcinoma (HLC-2) cells. The cytotoxicity of Duo to HLC-2 cells was enhanced 10 times by the addition of 0.5microg/ml Dist, which was much lower than the IC(50) value of 16microg/ml. Addition of Duo alone to HLC-2 cells resulted in typically apoptotic changes, including chromatin condensation, sub-G1 accumulation in DNA histogram pattern, and decrease in procaspase-3 and 9 levels. Interestingly, these apoptotic characteristics in Duo-treated cells were suppressed by the addition of 0.5microg/ml Dist, and the G2/M population in the cell cycle progression of HLC-2 cells was largely unchanged in the coexistence of Dist along with the extremely low accumulation of p53 and higher induction of p21. In contrast, the treatment of HLC-2 cells with Dist (16microg/ml) alone was observed to induce the accumulation of p53 and cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase. These results indicate that Dist suppresses apoptosis induced by Duo as well as enhances Duo-induced cytotoxicity in living cells, and may contribute to chemotherapy for tumors resistant to inducing apoptotic cell death.