Isocorydine inhibits cell proliferation in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines by inducing G2/m cell cycle arrest and apoptosis

The treatment of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines with (+)-isocorydine, which was isolated and purified from Papaveraceae sp. plants, resulted in a growth inhibitory effect caused by the induction of G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. We report that isocorydine induces G2/M phase arrest by increasing cyclin B1 and p-CDK1 expression levels, which was caused by decreasing the expression and inhibiting the activation of Cdc25C. The phosphorylation levels of Chk1 and Chk2 were increased after ICD treatment. Furthermore, G2/M arrest induced by ICD can be disrupted by Chk1 siRNA but not by Chk2 siRNA. In addition, isocorydine treatment led to a decrease in the percentage of CD133(+) PLC/PRF/5 cells. Interestingly, isocorydine treatment dramatically decreased the tumorigenicity of SMMC-7721 and Huh7 cells. These findings indicate that isocorydine might be a potential therapeutic drug for the chemotherapeutic treatment of HCC.     

Obovatol inhibits colorectal cancer growth by inhibiting tumor cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis

Neolignans such as obovatol, honokiol, and magnolol have been previously reported to show various biological activities including anti-inflammation and antitumor effects. This is the first demonstration on the in vivo antitumor effect of obovatol on human colorectal carcinoma SW620 cells. Nude mice were implanted with SW620 cells and fed with vehicle or 5mg/kg/d dose of obovatol for 20 days. Obovatol inhibited tumor growth that accounted for 50% decrease in tumor volume and 44.6% decrease in tumor weight at the end of the experiment without any adverse health effect. In nude mice bearing SW620-incubated tumor, obovatol exhibited more potent antitumor activity than honolkiol. In addition, DNA flow cytometric analysis shows that obovatol progresses to apoptosis as detected by flow cytometry after double staining with annexin V and propidium iodide. Thus, we suggest that obovatol is a potent inducer of cell apoptosis in SW620 cells, and a potent antitumor agent.     

Bortezomib inhibits C2C12 growth by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis

Proteosome inhibitors such as bortezomib (BTZ) have been used to treat muscle wasting in animal models. However, direct effect of BTZ on skeletal muscle cells has not been reported. In the present study, our data showed that C2C12 cells exhibited a dose-dependent decrease in cell viability in response to increasing concentrations of BTZ. Consistent with the results of cell viability, Annexin V/PI analysis showed a significant increase in apoptosis after exposing the cells to BTZ for 24 h. The detection of cleaved caspase-3 further confirmed apoptosis. The apoptosis induced by BTZ was associated with reduced expression of p-ERK. Cell cycle analysis revealed that C2C12 cells underwent G2/M cell cycle arrest when incubated with BTZ for 24 h. Furthermore, BTZ inhibited formation of multinucleated myotubes. The inhibition of myotube formation was accompanied by decreased expression of Myogenin. Our data suggest that BTZ induces cell death and inhibits differentiation of C2C12 cells at clinically relevant doses.     

Hesperetin, a bioflavonoid, inhibits rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells proliferation by arresting cell cycle

Diet can be one of the most important factors that influence risks for cardiovascular diseases. Hesperetin, a flavonoid present in grapefruits and oranges, is one candidate that may benefit the cardiovascular system. In this study, we have investigated the effect of hesperetin on the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB-induced proliferation of primary cultured rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Hesperetin significantly inhibited 50 ng/ml PDGF-BB-induced rat aortic VSMCs proliferation and [(3)H]-thymidine incorporation into DNA at concentrations of 5, 25, 50, and 100 microM. In accordance with these findings, hesperetin revealed blocking of the PDGF-BB-inducible progression through G(0)/G(1) to S phase of the cell cycle in synchronized cells. Western blot showed that hesperetin inhibited not only phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein (pRb) and expressions of cyclin A, cyclin D, cyclin E, cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) as well as proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) protein, but also downregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CKI) p27(kip1), while did not affect CKI p21(cip1), p16(INK4), p53, and CDK4 expressions as well as early signaling transductions such as PDGF beta-receptor, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2, Akt, p38, and JNK phosphorylation. These results suggest that hesperetin inhibits PDGF-BB-induced rat aortic VSMCs proliferation via G(0)/G(1) arrest in association with modulation of the expression or activation of cell-cycle regulatory proteins, which may contribute to the beneficial effect of grapefruits and oranges on cardiovascular system.     

Arginine deiminase enhances MCF-7 cell radiosensitivity by inducing changes in the expression of cell cycle-related proteins

After successful clinical application, arginine deiminase (ADI) has been proposed to be a new cancer therapeutic. In the present study, we examined the effect of ADI in combination with ionizing radiation (IR) on MCF-7 cell growth and clonogenic cell death. Cell growth was inhibited by IR in a dose-dependent manner and ADI enhanced the radiosensitivity. ADI itself did not suppress the growth of MCF-7 cells due to the high level of expression of argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS), which convert citrulline, a product of arginine degradation by ADI, to arginine. Previously, it was suggested that ammonia, another product of arginine degradation by ADI, is the main cause of the growth inhibition of irradiated hepatoma cells contaminated with ADI-expressing mycoplasma [van Rijn et al. (2003)]. However, we found that ammonia is not the only factor that enhances radiosensitivity, as enhancement was also observed in the absence of ammonia. In order to identify the enhancing effect, levels of ASS and proteins related to the cell cycle were examined. ASS was unchanged by ADI plus IR, but p21 (a CDK inhibitor) was upregulated and c-Myc downregulated. These findings indicate that changes in the expressions of cell cycle proteins are involved in the enhancement of radiosensitivity by ADI. We suggest that ADI is a potential adjunct to cancer therapy.     

Acetone extract of Angelica sinensis inhibits proliferation of human cancer cells via inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis

Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely prescribed in treatment of gynecological diseases. Bio-based assays for extracts of Angelica sinensis showed that the acetone extract (AE-AS) had dose-dependently antiproliferative effect on A549, HT29, DBTRG-05MG and J5 human cancer cells. The IC₅₀ values of AE-AS on mentioned cancer cells ranged from 35 to 50 μg/ml after 24 h of treatment. After 72 h of exposure, AE-AS (40 μg/ml) significantly reduced A549 cell proliferation to 24 ± 3.2% of control. In A549 cells, the cell cycle analysis showed that AE-AS induced a significant increase in the number of cells in G0/G1, with a concomitant decrease in the number of cells in S phase. AE-AS-induced chromatin changes and apoptosis of A549 cells were confirmed by Hoechst 33342 DNA staining and annexin V staining. A549 cells treated with AE-AS caused activation of caspase-9 and -3, and AE-AS-induced apoptosis could be inhibited by the broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor, z-VAD-fmk. The Western blot indicated the AE-AS-triggered apoptosis is mediated via suppression of Bcl-2 oncoprotein expression rather than p53 or Bax. Besides, AE-AS decreased the levels of cdk4 protein was observed. These results indicate that the AE-AS could induce G1/S arrest and activate the mechanism of apoptosis in human cancer cells. Extracts obtained from different methods of fractionation might possess distinct bioactivity. These results prompted us to further evaluate the in vivo anticancer effects and elucidate the chemical composition profile of AE-AS.     

Pyrogallol inhibits the growth of human pulmonary adenocarcinoma A549 cells by arresting cell cycle and triggering apoptosis

Pyrogallol (PG) is a polyphenol compound and has been known to be an O generator. We evaluated the effects of PG on the growth of human pulmonary A549 cells in relation to the cell cycle and apoptosis. Treatment with 50 or 100 μM PG significantly inhibited the cell growth of A549 for 72 h. DNA flow cytometric analysis indicated that PG slightly induced a G1 phase arrest of the cell cycle at 24 or 48 h, but did not induce the specific cell cycle arrest at 72 h. Intracellular GSH depletion was observed in PG‐treated cells. PG induced apoptosis in A549 cells, as evidenced by sub‐G1 cells, annexin V staining cells, and the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (Δ Ψ_m). The intracellular ROS (reactive oxygen species) level including O increased in PG‐treated A549 cells at 24 and 48 h, and persisted at 72 h. The changes in GSH as well as ROS levels by PG affected the cell viability in A549 cells. In conclusion, PG inhibited the growth of human pulmonary A549 cells by inducing cell cycle arrest as well as triggering apoptosis. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biochem Mol Toxicol 23:36–42, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/jbt.20263     

Ivermectin inhibits the growth of glioma cells by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in vitro and in vivo

Glioma, the most predominant primary malignant brain tumor, remains uncured due to the absence of effective treatments. Hence, it is imperative to develop successful therapeutic agents. This study aimed to explore the antitumor effects and mechanisms of ivermectin (IVM) in glioma cells in vitro and in vivo. The effects of IVM on cell viability, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis rate, and morphological characteristics were determined respectively by MTT assay/colony formation assay, flow cytometry, and transmission electron microscope. In addition, the expression levels of cycle-related and apoptosis-associated proteins were individually examined by Western blot analysis. Moreover, cell proliferation and apoptosis analyses were carried out by TUNEL, Ki-67, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved caspase-9 immunostaining assay. Our results demonstrated that IVM has a potential dosage-dependent inhibition effect on the apoptosis rate of glioma cells. Meanwhile, the results also revealed that IVM induced apoptosis by increasing caspase-3 and caspase-9 activity, upregulating the expressions of p53 and Bax, downregulating Bcl-2, activating cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9, and blocking cell cycle in G0/G1 phase by downregulating levels of CDK2, CDK4, CDK6, cyclin D1, and cyclin E. These findings suggest that IVM has an inhibition effect on the proliferation of glioma cells by triggering cell cycle arrest and inducing cell apoptosis in vitro and in vivo, and probably represents promising agent for treating glioma.     

Ethyl isopropyl amiloride inhibits smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration by inducing apoptosis and antagonizing urokinase plasminogen activator activity

Amiloride inhibits activation of the Na(+)-H+ exchanger (NHE), a critical step in smooth muscle cell (SMC) growth. While amiloride treatment reduces SMC proliferation and migration, as well as experimental lesion formation, these effects are not exclusively due to NHE inhibition and remain incompletely understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the mechanisms involved in amiloride-induced attenuation of SMC proliferation and migration, looking specifically at the potential role of apoptosis and urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) activity in these processes. Rabbit SMCs in tissue culture were exposed to 10-80 microM of the amiloride analogue ethyl isopropyl amiloride (EIPA). Compared with controls, EIPA reduced DNA synthesis, cell number, and mitochondrial respiration, but without toxic effects on quiescent or proliferating cells. In a Boyden chamber assay, EIPA reduced uPA-induced SMC migration. Moreover, in a SMC scratch assay EIPA treatment resulted in a 66% reduction in the number of repopulating cells, a 92% decrease in the number of proliferating cells, and a 37-fold increase in the number of apoptotic cells. SMC apoptosis was frequently localized to the scratch edges, where cell proliferation and bcl-2 expression were absent. Finally, uPA enzymatic activity in the cell culture media was lower for EIPA-treated versus control SMCs. Therefore, EIPA inhibits both SMC proliferation and migration by inducing apoptosis and antagonizing uPA activity, respectively, and requires further study as an agent for reducing vascular lesion formation.     

Porphyromonas gingivalis invades human trophoblasts and inhibits proliferation by inducing G1 arrest and apoptosis

Porphyromonas gingivalis is an oral pathogen that is also associated with serious systemic conditions such as preterm delivery. Here we investigated the interaction between P. gingivalis and a cell line of extravillous trophoblasts (HTR-8) derived from the human placenta. P. gingivalis internalized within HTR-8 cells and inhibited proliferation through induction of arrest in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. G1 arrest was associated with decreased expression of cyclin D and of CDKs 2, 4 and 6. In addition, levels of CDK inhibitors p15, p16, p18 and p21 were increased following P. gingivalis infection. The amount of Rb was diminished by P. gingivalis, and transient overexpression of Rb, with concomitant upregulation of phospho-Rb, relieved P. gingivalis -induced G1 arrest. HTR-8 cells halted in the G1 phase became apoptotic, and apoptosis was accompanied by an increase in the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 and increased activity of caspases 3, 7 and 9. HTR-8 cells infected with P. gingivalis also exhibited a sustained activation of ERK1/2, and knock-down of ERK1/2 activity with siRNA abrogated both G1 arrest and apoptosis. Thus, P. gingivalis can invade placental trophoblasts and induce G1 arrest and apoptosis through pathways involving ERK1/2 and its downstream effectors, properties that provide a mechanistic basis for pathogenicity in complications of pregnancy.     

Cell division cycle 20 promotes cell proliferation and invasion and inhibits apoptosis in osteosarcoma cells

Cdc20 (cell division cycle 20 homologue) has been reported to exhibit an oncogenic role in human tumorigenesis. However, the function of Cdc20 in osteosarcoma (OS) has not been investigated. In the current study, we aim to explore the role of Cdc20 in human OS cells. Multiple approaches were used to measure cell growth, apoptosis, cell cycle, migration and invasion in OS cells after depletion of Cdc20 or overexpression of Cdc20. We found that down-regulation of Cdc20 inhibited cell growth, induced apoptosis and triggered cell cycle arrest in OS cells. Moreover, Cdc20 down-regulation let to inhibition of cell migration and invasion in OS cells. Consistently, overexpression of Cdc20 in OS cells promoted cell growth, inhibited apoptosis, enhanced cell migration and invasion. Mechanistically, our Western blotting results showed that overexpression of Cdc20 reduced the expression of Bim and p21, whereas depletion of Cdc20 upregulated Bim and p21 levels in OS cells. Altogether, our findings demonstrated that Cdc20 exerts its oncogenic role partly due to regulation of Bim and p21 in OS cells, suggesting that targeting Cdc20 could be useful for the treatment of OS.     

Amniotic membrane-derived cells inhibit proliferation of cancer cell lines by inducing cell cycle arrest

Cells derived from the amniotic foetal membrane of human term placenta have drawn particular attention mainly for their plasticity and immunological properties, which render them interesting for stem-cell research and cell-based therapeutic applications. In particular, we have previously demonstrated that amniotic mesenchymal tissue cells (AMTC) inhibit lymphocyte proliferation in vitro and suppress the generation and maturation of monocyte-derived dendritic cells. Here, we show that AMTC also significantly reduce the proliferation of cancer cell lines of haematopoietic and non-haematopoietic origin, in both cell-cell contact and transwell co-cultures, therefore suggesting the involvement of yet-unknown inhibitory soluble factor(s) in this 'cell growth restraint'. Importantly, we provide evidence that the anti-proliferative effect of AMTC is associated with induction of cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase. Gene expression analyses demonstrate that AMTC can down-regulate cancer cells' mRNA expression of genes associated with cell cycle progression, such as cyclins (cyclin D2, cyclin E1, cyclin H) and cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK4, CDK6 and CDK2), whilst they up-regulate cell cycle negative regulator such as p15 and p21, consistent with a block in G0/G1 phase with no progression to S phase. Taken together, these findings warrant further studies to investigate the applicability of these cells for controlling cancer cell proliferation in vivo.     

Isocostunolide inhibited glioma stem cell by suppression proliferation and inducing caspase dependent apoptosis

Glioblastoma multiform (GBM) is a highly aggressive brain tumor with poor life expectancy, and glioma stem cells (GSCs) are a small population of tumor cells existed in GBM, in which GSCs response to drive GBM recurrence, invasion and contribute to the anti-cancer resistance. GSCs have been identified and developed as a therapeutic target for GBM and can be used in drugs screening. Isocostunolide is a natural sesquiterpenoid and contained abundant resource in medicinal plants, but the anti-cancer efficacies of it against GSCs are still unexplored. In this investigation, the anti-tumor activity of isocostunolide against GSCs was investigated and the result demonstrated that it inhibited the growth of GSCs (GSC-3#, GSC-12#, GSC-18#) significantly with an IC₅₀ value of 2.80 μg/ml, 2.61 μg/ml, 1.07 μg/ml, respectively. In further mechanism study, isocostunolide inhibited GSCs cell proliferation, induced GSCs apoptosis significantly, as well as increased the proportion of the cleavage of caspase-3. The result suggested that isocostunolide induced GSCs apoptosis via the caspase dependent apoptotic pathway. Moreover, isocostunolide damaged GSCs colony formation capacity significantly and exhibited the anti-cancer efficacy against GSCs in vitro.     

Geraniol inhibits prostate cancer growth by targeting cell cycle and apoptosis pathways

Elongation factor-2 kinase (eEF-2 kinase, also known as calmodulin-dependent protein kinase III), is a unique calcium/calmodulin-dependent enzyme that inhibits protein synthesis by phosphorylating and inactivating elongation factor-2 (eEF-2). We previously reported that expression/activity of eEF-2 kinase was up-regulated in several types of malignancies including Gliomas, and was associated with response of tumor cells to certain therapeutic stress. In the current study, we sought to determine whether eEF-2 kinase expression affected sensitivity of glioma cells to treatment with tumor the necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), a targeted therapy able to induce apoptosis in cancer cells but causes no toxicity in most normal cells. We found that inhibition of eEF-2 kinase by RNA interference (RNAi) or by a pharmacological inhibitor (NH125) enhanced TRAIL-induced apoptosis in the human glioma cells, as evidenced by an increase in apoptosis in the tumor cells treated with eEF-2 kinase siRNA or the eEF-2 kinase inhibitor. We further demonstrated that sensitization of tumor cells to TRAIL was accompanied by a down-regulation of the anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-xL, and that overexpression of Bcl-xL could abrogate the sensitizing effect of inhibiting eEF-2 kinase on TRAIL. The results of this study may help devise a new therapeutic strategy for enhancing the efficacy of TRAIL against malignant glioma by targeting eEF-2 kinase.     

Geraniol inhibits prostate cancer growth by targeting cell cycle and apoptosis pathways

The progression of prostate cancer is associated with escape from cell cycle arrest and apoptosis under androgen-depleted conditions. Here, we found that geraniol, a naturally occurring monoterpene, induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in cultured cells and tumor grafted mice using PC-3 prostate cancer cells. Geraniol modulated the expression of various cell cycle regulators and Bcl-2 family proteins in PC-3 cells in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we showed that the combination of sub-optimal doses of geraniol and docetaxel noticeably suppresses prostate cancer growth in cultured cells and tumor xenograft mice. Therefore, our findings provide insight into unraveling the mechanisms underlying escape from cell cycle arrest and apoptosis and developing therapeutic strategies against prostate cancer.     

RPS27a promotes proliferation,regulates cell cycle progression and inhibits apoptosis of leukemia cells

Ribosomal protein S27a (RPS27a) could perform extra-ribosomal functions besides imparting a role in ribosome biogenesis and post-translational modifications of proteins. The high expression level of RPS27a was reported in solid tumors, and we found that the expression level of RPS27a was up-regulated in advanced-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and acute leukemia (AL) patients. In this study, we explored the function of RPS27a in leukemia cells by using CML cell line K562 cells and its imatinib resistant cell line K562/G01 cells. It was observed that the expression level of RPS27a was high in K562 cells and even higher in K562/G01 cells. Further analysis revealed that RPS27a knockdown by shRNA in both K562 and K562G01 cells inhibited the cell viability, induced cell cycle arrest at S and G2/M phases and increased cell apoptosis induced by imatinib. Combination of shRNA with imatinib treatment could lead to more cleaved PARP and cleaved caspase-3 expression in RPS27a knockdown cells. Further, it was found that phospho-ERK(p-ERK) and BCL-2 were down-regulated and P21 up-regulated in RPS27a knockdown cells. In conclusion, RPS27a promotes proliferation, regulates cell cycle progression and inhibits apoptosis of leukemia cells. It appears that drugs targeting RPS27a combining with tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) might represent a novel therapy strategy in TKI resistant CML patients.     

Tilianin inhibits the human ovarian cancer (PA-1) cell proliferation via blocking cell cycle,inducing apoptosis and inhibiting JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway

Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest gynecologic malignancies and is the seventh leading cause of mortalities and morbidities globally. Although there are various therapeutic strategies, a major challenge for scientific community is to come up with effective strategy to treat ovarian cancer. Tilianin, a polyphenol flavonoid is well known for its extensive biological actions like cardioprotective, neuroprotective, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and anti-tumor properties. The current study is designed to investigate the anti-cancer action of Tilianin in ovarian cancer (PA-1) cells. The findings of this study revealed that Tilianin treatment results in significant and concentration dependent decrease in cell viability. The growth inhibiting action of Tilianin is associated with apoptosis which was confirmed by DAPI and AO/EtBr staining. The Tilianin-triggered apoptosis in PA-1 cells was correlated with elevated generation of ROS, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, alterations in pro-apoptotic (upregulated mRNA expression of Bax) and anti-apoptotic (downregulated mRNA expression of Bcl2) factors and activation of caspase-8, −9 and −3. Cell cycle analysis revealed that Tilianin treatment prevented G1/S transition through reduced mRNA expression of cyclin D1. Additionally, the findings of this study also showed Tilianin inhibited JAK2/STAT3 signaling (downregulated expression of pJAK2, JAK2, pSTAT3, and STAT3) with no change in mRNA expression level of ERK indicating its non-involvement in the apoptotic and/or growth inhibition of ovarian cancer cells. In conclusion, the findings of this exploration provided clear evidence of anti-cancer effects of Tilianin in PA-1 cells through its anti-proliferative action, ability to induce apoptosis both through extrinsic and intrinsic pathways, cell cycle (G1/S) arrest and JAK2/STAT3 signaling inhibition.