• Toxicological Research
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• 제35권2호
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• pp.167-179
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• 2019

Ovarian cancer is the fifth main cause of pre-senescent death in women. Although chemotherapy is generally an efficient treatment, its side effects and the occurrence of chemotherapeutic resistance have prompted the need for alternative treatments. In this study, ${\alpha}$-mangostin and apigenin were evaluated as possible anticancer alternatives to the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin, used herein as a positive control. The ovarian adenocarcinoma cell line SKOV-3 (ATCC No. HTB77) was used as model ovarian cancer cells, whereas the skin fibroblast line CCD-986Sk (ATCC No. CRL-1947) and lung fibroblast line WI-38 (ATCC No. CCL-75) were used as model untransformed cells. Apigenin and doxorubicin inhibited the growth of SKOV-3 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. After 72 hr exposure, doxorubicin was mostly toxic to SKOV-3 cells, whereas apigenin was toxic to SKOV-3 cells but not CCD-986Sk and WI-38 cells. ${\alpha}$-Mangostin was more toxic to SKOV-3 cells than to CCD-986Sk cells. A lower cell density, cell shrinkage, and more unattached (floating round) cells were observed in all treated SKOV-3 cells, but the greatest effects were observed with ${\alpha}$-mangostin. With regard to programmed cell death, apigenin caused early apoptosis within 24 hr, whereas ${\alpha}$-mangostin and doxorubicin caused late apoptosis and necrosis after 72 hr of exposure. Caspase-3 activity was significantly increased in ${\alpha}$-mangostin-treated SKOV-3 cells after 12 hr of exposure, whereas only caspase-9 activity was significantly increased in apigenin-treated SKOV-3 cells at 24 hr. Both ${\alpha}$-mangostin and apigenin arrested the cell cycle at the $G_2/M$ phase, but after 24 and 48 hr, respectively. Significant upregulation of BCL2 (apoptosis-associated gene) and COX2 (inflammation-associated gene) transcripts was observed in apigenin- and ${\alpha}$-mangostin-treated SKOV-3 cells, respectively. ${\alpha}$-Mangostin and apigenin are therefore alternative options for SKOV-3 cell inhibition, with apigenin causing rapid early apoptosis related to the intrinsic apoptotic pathway, and ${\alpha}$-mangostin likely being involved with inflammation.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.73-81
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• 2023

Sirtuins (SIRTs) belong to the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)-dependent class III histone deacetylase family. They are key regulators of cellular and physiological processes, such as cell survival, senescence, differentiation, DNA damage and stress response, cellular metabolism, and aging. SIRTs also influence carcinogenesis, making them potential targets for anticancer therapeutic strategies. In this study, we investigated the anticancer properties and underlying molecular mechanisms of a novel SIRT1 inhibitor, MHY2251, in human colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. MHY2251 reduced the viability of various human CRC cell lines, especially those with wild-type TP53. MHY2251 inhibited SIRT1 activity and SIRT1/2 protein expression, while promoting p53 acetylation, which is a target of SIRT1 in HCT116 cells. MHY2251 treatment triggered apoptosis in HCT116 cells. It increased the percentage of late apoptotic cells and the sub-G1 fraction (as detected by flow cytometric analysis) and induced DNA fragmentation. In addition, MHY2251 upregulated the expression of FasL and Fas, altered the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2, downregulated the levels of pro-caspase-8, -9, and -3 proteins, and induced subsequent poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage. The induction of apoptosis by MHY2251 was related to the activation of the caspase cascade, which was significantly attenuated by pre-treatment with Z-VAD-FMK, a pan-caspase inhibitor. Furthermore, MHY2251 stimulated the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and MHY2251-triggered apoptosis was blocked by pre-treatment with SP600125, a JNK inhibitor. This finding indicated the specific involvement of JNK in MHY2251-induced apoptosis. MHY2251 shows considerable potential as a therapeutic agent for targeting human CRC via the inhibition of SIRT1 and activation of JNK/p53 pathway.

• 생명과학회지
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.389-398
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• 2013

Platycodin D는 도라지(Platycodon grandiflorum)의 뿌리인 길경(Platycodi Radix)에 함유된 은 triterpene saponin의 일종으로 다양한 약리효능이 있는 것으로 알려져 있다. 본 연구에서는 다양한 암세포 중 platycodin D의 항암활성 감수성이 가장 높았던 인체 혈구암 U937 세포를 대상으로 platycodin D 처리에 따른 apoptosis 유발기전에 대하여 조사하였다. 본 연구의 결과에 의하면 U937 세포에서 platycodin D 처리에 의한 증식억제는 apoptosis 유발과 밀접한 연관이 있음을 알 수 있었다. 이러한 platycodin D에 의한 apoptosis 유발은 pro-apoptotic Bax의 발현 증가와 연관된 미토콘드리아 막 전위의 소실 및 caspase-3의 활성화와 기질단백질들의 분해에 의한 것임을 알 수 있었으며, IAP family 인자들의 발현 감소가 caspase의 활성 증가에도 영향을 미친 것으로 추정된다. 또한 z-DEVD-fmk 선처리에 의하여 platycodin D에 의하여 유발된 apoptosis가 유의적으로 억제되었기에, platycodin D 처리에 의하여 유발되는 apoptosis는 미토콘드리아 경로에 의하여 조절되며, caspase-3의 활성화가 핵심적인 역할을 한 것으로 생각된다.