RESUMEN
We have recently demonstrated the antiproliferative and apoptotic activities of herbal traditional Chinese medicines, including the analomous fruit extract of Gleditsia sinensis, the fresh juice of Scutellaria barbata and the warmed water extract of Radix Sophorae Tonkinensis on a series of human carcinoma cells. Here, we further report the potential anti-cancer activity of the warmed water extract of Brucea javanica (BJE). Four cancer cell lines, including A549 non-small cell lung cancer, Hep3B hepatocellular carcinoma, MDA-MB231 breast cancer and SLMT-1 oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma, were incubated with BJE and strong apoptotic induction was observed under inverted microscopic investigation for all of the four cell lines tested. Using the MDA-MB231 breast cancer cell line as an experimental model, additional analyses supported the hypothesis that the mitochondrial membrane potential depolarization pathway was induced by BJE. The APO-1/Fas receptor death induction pathway was not activated under the influence of BJE, as studied by staining with Fas ligand and Fas receptor specific antibodies. Accordingly, only weak activation of caspase 8 was observed upon BJE treatment. On the other hand, caspase 3 activity was stimulated up to five-fold in BJE-treated cells compared to untreated controls. Oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation formation was detected by labelling the nucleic acid ladders with TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labelling. Collectively, BJE-induced cancer cell death proceeds through a mitochondrial dependent pathway associated with caspase 3 activation.
Asunto(s)
Apoptosis/efectos de los fármacos , Brucea/química , Neoplasias/patología , Fitoterapia , Extractos Vegetales/farmacología , Médula Ósea/efectos de los fármacos , Caspasa 3 , Caspasa 8 , Caspasas/metabolismo , Línea Celular Tumoral , Proliferación Celular/efectos de los fármacos , Supervivencia Celular/efectos de los fármacos , Fragmentación del ADN/efectos de los fármacos , Humanos , Potenciales de la Membrana/efectos de los fármacos , Neoplasias/tratamiento farmacológico , Extractos Vegetales/uso terapéutico , Receptor fas/metabolismoRESUMEN
The possible antiproliferative and apoptotic inducing potentials of fresh juice prepared from Scutellaria barbata (SBJ) and warmed water extract of Radix Sophorae Tonkinensis (RSTE) have been tested on a series of cancer cell lines, including HepG2 hepatoblastoma, Hep3B hepatocellular carcinoma, MDA-MB231 breast carcinoma, A549 lung cancer and KG-1 acute myelogenous leukaemia in vitro. Both SBJ and RSTE were able to inhibit the growth of cancer cell lines and induce apoptosis. Further analysis of the action of RSTE on HepG2 cells suggested that the activity of the central machinery of apoptosis, caspase 3, was significantly elevated. Oligo-nucleosomal length DNA fragments formation was readily detected by TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labelling assay after RSTE treatment. Taken together, we believe that, although Radix Sophorae Tonkinensis was demonstrated to have toxic components including matrine and oxymatrine, it is still worthwhile to further investigate its anti-cancer potential under a safety toxicological precaution.