• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.696-700
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• 2009

Purpose : We screened more than 350 compounds with an endoperoxide ring structure in search of an anti-leukemic drug and found that compound 127 (c-127) could induce significant cytotoxicity in HL-60 cells. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms of compound 127-induced antitumor activity on HL-60 cells. Methods : HL-60 cells were cultured in Rosewell Park Memorial Institute 1640 and cell viability was measured by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide], a tetrazole assay. Apoptosis was assessed by a DNA fragmentation test. Apoptotic machineries were determined by Western blot analysis. Results : C-127 could induce a cytotoxic effect at 24 h and apoptosis at 6 h, which was demonstrated with MTT assay and DNA fragmentation test, respectively. The apoptotic effect of this drug was caused by the activation of the intracellular caspase-8,3 activation, the cleavage of pro-apoptotic Bid, and the increase of c-Jun expression accompanied with JNK (Jun N-terminal kinases) phosphorylation. On the contrary, it increased the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 levels, leading to the induction of the induction of anti-apoptotic effect. Taken together, the present study demonstrated that c-127 was a potent inducer of cytotoxicity on HL-60 cells through apoptotic mechanisms, which included the activation of caspase family, the regulation of Bcl-2 family, and the activation of JNK signaling pathway. Conclusion : Our results suggest that c-127 has a strong antitumor activity through the regulation of various apoptotic machineries on HL-60 cells. The compound may be utilized as an effective and potentially therapeutic drug in leukemia.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.235-241
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• 2000

This study was carried out to evaluate cytotoxic effects of Poncirus trifoliata Raf. extract on lymphocytic leukemia tumor (L1210) cell lines. Disruptions in cell organelles were determined by 3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazoliumbromide (MTT) assay The comparison of Ic50 Values of Poncirus trifoliata Raf. extract in L1210 cell lines showed that their susceptibility to these fractons decreased in the following order: adriamycin > Fr.4> Fr. 6> Fr. 5> Fr. 3> Fr. 1> Fr. 2 by the MTT assay. In order to develop an antumicrobial agent, Poncirus trifoliata Raf. was extracted wit ethanol, and then it was fractionated with several mobile phase. The antitumor activities of fractions of the ethanol soluble extract was investigated. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of fractions of the ethanol soluble extract of Poncirus trifoliata Raf. against microorganisms were also examined. Antimicrobial activities of ampicillin and ketoconazole as references were compared to those of fractions of the ethanol soluble extract of Poncirus trifoliata Raf. The antimicrobial activities of all fractions from the extract had growth inhibition activities against gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria and fungi $(MIC\;>\;200{\mu}g/ml)$. These results suggest that fraction 4 of the ethanol soluble extract of Poncirus trifoliata Raf. possessed the most antitumorous agent.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.4031-4036
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• 2012

Background: The negative signaling provided by interactions of the co-inhibitory molecule, programmed death-1 (PD-1), and its ligands, B7-H1 (PD-L1) and B7-DC (PD-L2), is a critical mechanism contributing to tumor evasion; blockade of this pathway has been proven to enhance cytotoxic activity and mediate antitumor therapy. Here we evaluated the anti-tumor efficacy of AAV-mediated delivery of the extracellular domain of murine PD-1 (sPD-1) to a tumor site. Material and Methods: An rAAV vector was constructed in which the expression of sPD-1, a known negative regulator of TCR signals, is driven by human cytomegalovirus immediate early promoter (CMV-P), using a triple plasmid transfection system. Tumor-bearing mice were then treated with the AAV/sPD1 construct and expression of sPD-1 in tumor tissues was determined by semi quantitative RT-PCR, and tumor weights and cytotoxic activity of splenocytes were measured. Results: Analysis of tumor homogenates revealed sPD-1 mRNA to be significantly overexpressed in rAAV/sPD-1 treated mice as compared with control levels. Its use for local gene therapy at the inoculation site of H22 hepatoma cells could inhibit tumor growth, also enhancing lysis of tumor cells by lymphocytes stimulated specifically with an antigen. In addition, PD-1 was also found expressed on the surfaces of activated CD8+ T cells. Conclusion: This study confirmed that expression of the soluble extracellular domain of PD-1 molecule could reduce tumor microenvironment inhibitory effects on T cells and enhance cytotoxicity. This suggests that it might be a potential target for development of therapies to augment T-cell responses in patients with malignancies.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.41 no.7
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• pp.357-361
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• 1997

8-Azaxanthine (1), 3-${\beta}$-D-ribofuranosyl-8-azaxanthine (2), 3-${\beta}$-D-ribofuranosyl-8-azaxanthine-5'-monophosphate (3), and 3-${\beta}$-D-ribofuranosyl-8-azaxanthine-5'-(3-pyridinylcarbonyl)monophosphate (4) were synthesized. The in vitro antitumor activities of the synthesized compounds against P388 mouse leukemia, FM3A mammary carcinoma, and U937 human histiocytic lymphoma cells were determined by MTT assay. 2 with unnatural N-3 and C-1' glycoside bond had activity against three tumor cell lines and $IC_{50}$s of these compounds were 0.05, 0.06, and 0.06 ${\mu}mol/mL$ against three tumor cell lines, respectively. But these compounds had no antibacterial activity. $IC_{50}$s against U937 human histiocytic lymphoma cells were verified with the structural modification: $IC_{50}$s of 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 0.33, 0.06, 0.25, and 0.33 ${\mu}mol/mL$, respectively.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.54-59
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• 2007

In this paper, we present evidence that the Korean red ginseng extract shows the immunomodulatory activities during postoperative chemotherapy after curative surgery in patients with advanced colon cancer. We measured the circulating interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-8 (IL-8)and interleukin-10 (IL-10) as a immune modulator to evaluate the effect of Korean red ginseng. The mean preoperative value of IL-2 was similar in the non-RG group and the RG group (5.72 pg/ml versus 6.87 pg/ml, p>0.05). The mean value of IL-2 was compared with IL-2 from healthy control group, there was no significant difference (14.89 pg/ml versus 14.22 pg/ml, p>0.05). The mean preoperative value of IL-8 was higher in the non-RG group comparing with the RG group (30.92 pg/ml versus 36.25 pg/ml, p < 0.05). At postoperative 3 month, the mean values of IL-8 from non-RG and RG group down to 24.56 pg/ml and 21.46 pg/ml respectively. The IL-8 of RG group at 3 month showed no difference with that of HC group(21.46 pg/ml versus 16.31 pg/ml, p>0.05). The preoperative mean value of IL-10 of non-RG, RG and HC group was 11.56 pg/ml, 10.8 pg/ml, and 3.68 pg/ml respectively. At postoperative 3 month, the mean values of IL-10 from non-RG and RG group down to 8.45 pg/ml and 5.04 pg/ml respectively. In spite of decreasing IL-10 levels of both cancer Patients group with time, there was still significant difference with that of HC group (non-RG versus HC group, p=0.00, RC versus HC group, p=0.04). The results of this study suggest that the red ginseng extract may have some immunomodulatory properties associated with IL-2, IL-8 and IL-10 activity in patients with advanced colorectal cancer during postoperative chemotherapy. We think to need the further studies and a larger sample size to fully evaluate the antitumor effect of ginseng and need to establish this mechanism of action as well as identify the active components associated with antitumor activity and immunomodulation in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.345-352
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• 1990

This study was investigated on the antitumor of protein-polysaccharide fraction(PPF) extracted from seaweeds such as sea-staghorn and laver toward sarcoma-180 cells. In the PPF extracted from these sewaweeds, the polysaccharide contents of sea-staghorn and laver were $62.26\%$ and $65.78\%$, respectively. The highest levels of polysaccharides found in seaweeds was fructose. The major amino acids were aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine and cystein. The solid tumor growth inhibition showed the highest level of $53.30\%$ when 50mg/kg sea-staghorn was administrated. The life prolongation effect was $17.35\%$ at 50 mg/kg of laver. In the effects of immunologic activity, when 100mg/kg sea-staghorn was administrated, the number of circulating leucocyte showed the highest level of $82.23\%$ but decreased leucocyte for prolonged times. The number of total peritoneal exudate cells of the sea-staghorn administerated group was increased significantly in comparison with the control group. The hematobiolgoical analysis of the experimental group was similar with that of the control group. This experiments indicated that hemeastasis still maintained nor-mal state and not showed any harmful effects in normal mice.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.101-108
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• 2007

Armillaria tabescens, one of edible and medicinal mushrooms belonging to Agaricales of Basidiomycota, has been known to have outstanding curative effects on chronic hepatitis and cholecystitis and inhibitory effects on the sarcoma 180 and Erhrlich carcinoma of mice. Neutral saline soluble (0.9% NaCl), hot water soluble and methanol soluble substances (hereinafter referred to Fr, NaCl, Fr. HW and Fr, MeOH, respectively) were extracted from fruiting body of the mushroom. In vitro cytotoxicity tests showed that crude polysaccharides were not cytotoxic against cancer cell lines such as NIH3T3 and Sarcoma 180 at the concentration of $2000\;{\mu}g/ml$. Intraperitoneal injection with crude polysaccharides exhibited life prolongation effect of $28.8{\sim}46.5%$ in mice inoculated with Sarcoma 180, respectively. Fr. NaCl improved the immunopotentiation activity of B lymphocyte by increasing the alkaline phosphatase activity by $1.8{\sim}2.1$ folds, respectively. In case of Fr, NaCl, the numbers of peritoneal exudate cells and circulating leukocytes were increased by 9 and 1.9 folds, respectively.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1552-1557
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• 2012

It has been reported that pipernonaline isolated from Piper longum Linn. has a wide biochemical and pharmacological effect, including antitumor activity in prostate cancer PC-3 cells. However, its mechanism and expression pattern of many genes involved in biological functions are not clearly understood. To perform the gene expression study in PC-3 cells treated with pipernonaline, a cDNA microarray chip composed of 44,000 human cDNA probes was used. As a result, cell cycle-related genes, apoptosis-related genes, and cell proliferation/growth-related genes have been identified in gene ontology of the DAVID database. These results suggest that pipernonaline has antitumor activity by regulating the expression pattern of genes involved in biological signaling pathway in prostate cancer PC-3 cells. Further, additional analysis of these microarray data can be a useful tool to identify the mechanism and discovery of novel genes in cancer therapy.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.287-294
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• 2016

The effect of kaempferol (3,5,7,4-tetrahydroxyflavone), a flavonoid compound that was identified in barnyard millet (Echinochloa crus-galli var. frumentacea) grains, on G₂-checkpoint and apoptotic pathways was investigated in human acute leukemia Jurkat T cell clones stably transfected with an empty vector (J/Neo) or a Bcl-xL expression vector (J/Bcl-xL). Exposure of J/Neo cells to kaempeferol caused cytotoxicity and activation of the ATM/ATR-Chk1/Chk2 pathway, activating the phosphorylation of p53 (Ser-15), inhibitory phosphorylation of Cdc25C (Ser-216), and inactivation of cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (Cdk1), with resultant G₂-arrest of the cell cycle. Under these conditions, apoptotic events, including upregulation of Bak and PUMA levels, Bak activation, mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) loss, activation of caspase-9, -8, and -3, anti-poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage, and accumulation of apoptotic sub-G₁ cells, were induced without accompanying necrosis. However, these apoptotic events, except for upregulation of Bak and PUMA levels, were completely abrogated in J/Bcl-xL cells overexpressing Bcl-xL, suggesting that the G₂-arrest and the Bcl-xL-sensitive mitochondrial apoptotic events were induced, in parallel, as downstream events of the DNA-damage-mediated G₂-checkpoint activation. Together these results demonstrate that kaempferol-mediated antitumor activity toward Jurkat T cells was attributable to G₂-checkpoint activation, which caused not only G₂-arrest of the cell cycle but also activating phosphorylation of p53 (Ser-15) and subsequent induction of mitochondria-dependent apoptotic events, including Bak and PUMA upregulation, Bak activation, Δψm loss, and caspase cascade activation.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.1530-1537
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• 2006

Platycodi Radix, the root of Platycodon grandiflorum A. DC (Campanulaceae), commonly known as Doraji in Korea (Chinese name, 'Jiegeng', and Japanese name, 'Kikyo') has been used as an expectorant in traditional Oriental medicine. Extracts from the roots of P. grandiflorum have been reported to have wide ranging health benefits. In Korea, Platycodi Radix is also used as a food and employed as a folk remedy for adult diseases, such as bronchitis, asthma and pulmonary tuberculosis, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and inflammatory diseases, and as a sedative. Several studies on its chemical and immunopharmacological effects including immunostimulation and antitumor activity have been performed. However, the relevant molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Platycodi Radix, the root of Platycodon grandiflorum A. DC (Campanulaceae), commonly known as Doraji in Korea (Chinese name, 'Jiegeng', and Japanese name, 'Kikyo') has been used as an expectorant in traditional Oriental medicine. Extracts from the roots of P. grandiflorum have been reported to have wide ranging health bensfits. In Korea, Platycodi Radix is also used as a food and employed as a folk remedy for adult diseases, such as bronchitis, asthma and pulmonary tuberculosis, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and inflammatory diseases, and as a sedative. Several studies on its chemical and immunopharmacological effects including immunostimulation and antitumor activity have been performed. However, the relevant molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated the effects of an aqueous extract from the roots of P. grandiflorum AEPG) on the cell growth of human lung adenocarcinoma NCI-H460 cells in order to understand its anti-proliferative mechanism. AEPG treatment down-regulated the cyclin D1 expression in both transcriptional and translational levels without alteration of cyclin E. In AEPG-treated cells, the levels of cyclin-dependent kinase (C아) 6 mRNA and protein were significantly inhibited, but the levels of Cdk2 and Cdk4 were slightly inhibited by treatment of AEPG. AEPG treatment induced a marked accumulation of Cdk inhibitors, p16 and p27. However, AEPG treatment did not affect not only retinoblastoma protein (pRB) but also tumor suppressor p53 protein expression. The present results indicated that AEPG-induced inhibition of lung cancer cell proliferation is associated with the blockage of G1 phase progression through induction of Cdk inhibitors such as p16 and p27, and inhibition of cyclin D1 and Cdk6. AEPG exposure, as offered by this study, provides cluse for the mechanism of AEPG action. Taken together, these findings suggest that P. grandiflorum has strong potential for development as an agent for prevention and treatiment against human lung cancer.