• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제31권5호
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• pp.526-535
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• 2023

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and a frequent cause of cancer-related deaths among women wordlwide. As therapeutic strategies for breast cancer have limitations, novel chemotherapeutic reagents and treatment strategies are needed. In this study, we investigated the anti-cancer effect of synthetic homoisoflavane derivatives of cremastranone on breast cancer cells. Homoisoflavane derivatives, SH-17059 and SH-19021, reduced cell proliferation through G2/M cell cycle arrest and induced caspase-independent cell death. These compounds increased heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase 1 (ALAS1), suggesting downregulation of heme. They also induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, they reduced expression of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4). Therefore, we suggest that the SH-17059 and SH-19021 induced the caspase-independent cell death through the accumulation of iron from heme degradation, and the ferroptosis might be one of the potential candidates for caspase-independent cell death.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• 제1권4호
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• pp.243-251
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• 2006

Dideoxypetrosynol A, a polyacetylene from the marine sponge Petrosia sp., is known to exhibit significant selective cytotoxic activity against a small panel of human tumor cell lines, however, the mechanisms of which are poorly understood. In the present study, it was investigated the further possible mechanisms by which dideoxytetrosynol A exerts its anti-proliferative action in cultured human leukemia cell line U937. We observed that the proliferation-inhibitory effect of dideoxypetrosynol A was due to the induction of G1 arrest of the cell cycle and apoptosis, which effects were associated with up-regulation of cyclin D1 and down-regulation of cyclin E without any change in cyclin-dependent-kinases (Cdks) expression. Dideoxypetrosynol A markedly induced the levels of Cdk inhibitor p16/INK4a expression. Furthermore, down-regulation of phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein (pRB) by this compound was associated with enhanced binding of pRB and the transcription factor E2F-1. The increase in apoptosis was associated with a dose-dependent up-regulation in pro-apoptotic Bax expression and activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9. Dideoxytetrosynol A decreased the levels of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 mRNA and protein expression without significant changes in the levels of COX-1, which was correlated with a decrease in prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis. Furthermore, dideoxytetrosynol A treatment markedly inhibited the activity of telomerase, and the expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), a main determinant of the telomerase enzymatic activity, was progressively down-regulated by dideoxytetrosynol A treatment in a dose-dependent fashion. Taken together, these findings provide important new insights into the possible molecular mechanisms of the anti-cancer activity of dideoxytetrosynol A.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제16권3호
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• pp.153-158
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• 2012

Cellular effects of ethanol in YD-15 tongue carcinoma cells were assessed by MTT assay, caspase activity assay, Western blotting and flow cytometry. Ethanol inhibited the growth and proliferation of YD-15 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner in an MTT assay. The effects of ethanol on cell cycle control at low percent range of ethanol concentration (0 to 1.5%), the condition not inducing YD-15 cell death, was investigated after exposing cells to alcohol for a certain period of time. Western blotting on the expression of cell cycle inhibitors showed that p21 and p27 was up-regulated as ethanol concentration increases from 0 to 1.5% whilst the cell cycle regulators, cdk1, cdk2, and cdk4 as well as Cyclin A, Cyclin B1 and Cyclin E1, were gradually down-regulated. Flow cytometric analysis of cell cycle distribution revealed that YD-15 cells exposed to 1.5% ethanol for 24 h was mainly arrested at G2/M phase. However, ethanol induced apoptosis in YD-15 cells exposed to 2.5% or higher percent of ethanol. The cleaved PARP, a marker of caspase-3 mediated apoptosis, and the activation of caspase-3 and -7 were detected by caspase activity assay or Western blotting. Our results suggest that ethanol elicits inhibitory effect on the growth and proliferation of YD-15 tongue carcinoma cells by mediating cell cycle arrest at G2/M at low concentration range and ultimately induces apoptosis under the condition of high concentration.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제38권6호
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• pp.518-527
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• 2015

Controlled release of medications remains the most convenient way to deliver drugs. In this study, we precipitated gold nanoparticles with quercetin. We loaded gold-quercetin into poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles (NQ) and tested the biological activity of NQ on HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells to acquire the sustained release property. We determined by circular dichroism spectroscopy that NQ effectively caused conformational changes in DNA and modulated different proteins related to epigenetic modifications and c ell cycle control. The mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), reactive oxygen species (ROS), cell cycle, apoptosis, DNA damage, and caspase 3 activity were analyzed by flow cytometry, and the expression profiles of different anti- and pro-apoptotic as well as epigenetic signals were studied by immunoblotting. A cytotoxicity assay indicated that NQ preferentially killed cancer cells, compared to normal cells. NQ interacted with HepG2 cell DNA and reduced histone deacetylases to control cell proliferation and arrest the cell cycle at the sub-G stage. Activities of cell cycle-related proteins, such as $p21^{WAF}$, cdk1, and pAkt, were modulated. NQ induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells by activating p53-ROS crosstalk and induces epigenetic modifications leading to inhibited proliferation and cell cycle arrest.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.167-171
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• 2005

The anticancer and apoptotic effect of chloroform extract from 24 month-fermented doenjang were investigated in AGS human gastric adenocarcinoma cells. The chloroform extract of 24 month-fermented doenjang inhibited the AGS gastric cancer cell growth in a dose-dependent manner. It has been confirmed by observing the cell distribution under inverted microscope. Approximately, 48 hour treatment of $100\;{\mu}g/mL$ doenjang extract inhibited AGS cancer cell growth by $76.7\%$, respectively. The growth inhibition may be caused by apoptosis of AGS cancer cells after 48 hour treatment of 24 month-fermented doenjang extract. It has been demonstrated by cell cycle arrest that revealed the shift from $G_2+M\;to\;G_0+G_1$ phase and the formation of apoptotic bodies. The fermentation period playa critical role in cell cycle arrest, in which 24 month-fermented doenjang extract was more effective than 12 month-fermented doenjang extract. The treatment of 24 month-fermented doenjang extract for 48 hours has induced intercellular Bax and decreased Bcl-2 level, indicating that it may regulate the expression level of Bax/Bcl-2 proteins. Thus, 24 month-fermented doenjang extract seems to have anticancer effect via cancer cell growth inhibition induced by apoptosis process.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• 제56권1호
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• pp.73-84
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• 2024

A pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) enhances the efficacy of several anticancer drugs. Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anticancer agent used to treat various malignancies, including breast cancer. This study examined whether a PEMF increases the anticancer effect of DOX on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells and elucidated the underlying mechanisms affected by PEMF stimulation in DOX-treated MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. A cotreatment with DOX and a PEMF potentiated the reduction in MCF-7 cell viability compared to the treatment with DOX alone. The PEMF elevated DOX-induced G1 arrest by affecting cyclin-dependent kinase 2 phosphorylation and the expression of G1 arrest-related molecules, including p53, p21, cyclin E2, and polo like kinase 1. In addition, PEMF increased the DOX-induced upregulation of proapoptotic proteins, such as Fas and Bcl-2-associated X, and the downregulation of antiapoptotic proteins, including myeloid leukemia 1 and survivin. PEMF promoted the DOX-induced activation of caspases-8, -9, and -7 and poly (adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase cleavage in MCF-7 cells. In conclusion, PEMF enhances the anticancer activity in DOX-treated MCF-7 breast cancer cells by increasing G1 cell cycle arrest and caspase-dependent apoptosis. These findings highlight the potential use of a PEMF as an adjuvant treatment for DOX-based chemotherapy against breast cancer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.624-627
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• 2003

Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) is an environmental pollutant that has been implicated in carcinogenesis. Saccharomyces cerevisiae was treated with B[a]P, and the responses of its cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme and DNA-damage checkpoint genes were examined through gene expression profiles using a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The DNA-damage checkpoint genes tested were the chk1 and pds1 genes, involved in a metaphase arrest, the swi6 gene targeted by G1 arrest, the pol2 gene related to S phase arrest, and the cln2 gene encoding a cyclin protein, all of which are based on rad9 and rad24. Among these genes, no noticeable effect was found when the cells were exposed to various concentrations of B[a]P. However, the transcriptional activity of CYP51 was significantly different when the cells were exposed to B[a]P. Accordingly, the present results indicate that cytochrome P450 plays a more significant role than DNA-damage checkpoint genes in the response of S. cerevisiae to B[a]P.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• 제19권3호
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• pp.1-12
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• 2006

Purpose : This study was aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of Leonurus sibiricus on the proliferation of human uterine leiomyoma cells and the expression of gene related the mechanism of cell apoptosis. Methods : We counted the number of death cells treated with indicated concentration of Leonurus sibiricus and investigated cell death rate by MTS assay. Furthermore, flow cytometry analysis and DNA fragmentation assay were used to dissect between necrosis and apoptosis and then we observed the differential gene expression by western blot analysis. Results : Leonurus sibiricus significantly inhibited the proliferation of uterine leiomyoma cell in a dose-dependent and time dependent manner. Fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis indicated that Leonurus sibiricus induced G1 cell cycle arrest. Leonurus sibiricus enhanced the expression of p27 and p53 with cell cycle arrest. Conclusion : These findings suggest that Leonurus sibiricus is a candidate agent for the treatment of uterine leiomyoma. p27, $p53^{1}$ may play an important role in Leonurus sibiricus-induced cell cycle arrest and cell growth inhibition.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• 제47권1호
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• pp.34-42
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• 2019

Apigenin, a common natural product that is found in many plants and vegetables, has been reported to have many biological activities, including antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects. The triple-negative breast carcinoma cell line MDA-MB-231 is known to be highly invasive and resistant to chemotherapy. In this study, we investigated the anticancer effect of apigenin on human MDA-MB-231 cells. First, the cytotoxicity of apigenin toward MDA-MB-231 cells was analyzed by MTT assay. Then, the cell cycle and apoptotic effects of apigenin were examined, and the molecular mechanism underlying its anticancer activity was explored. Apigenin inhibited the growth of the cells in a dose-dependent manner, correlating with the cell cycle arrest at the G2-M phase as well as an increase of early apoptosis. The cell-cycle inhibitory effect was highly associated with the increased expression of p21 and decreased expression of CDK6, cyclin D1, and cyclin B1. The induction of apoptosis by apigenin was associated with the upregulated expression of cleaved PARP and cleaved caspase-3, -7, and -9.

• Journal of Life Science
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• 제16권7호
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• pp.1235-1242
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• 2006

Sulforaphane, an isothiocyanate derived from hydrolysis of glucoraphanin in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, was shown to induce phase II detoxification enzymes and inhibit chemically induced mammary tumors in rodents. Recently, sulforaphane is known to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human canter cells, however its molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. In tile present study, we demonstrated that sulforaphane acted to inhibit proliferation and induce morphological changes of human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells. Treatment of HepG2 cells with $10{\mu}M\;or\;15{\mu}M$ sulforaphane resulted in significant G2/M cell cycle arrest as determined by DNA flow cytometry. Moreover, $20{\mu}M$ sulforaphane significantly induced the population of sub-G1 cells suggesting that sulforaphane induced apoptosis. This anti-proliferative effect of sulforaphane was accompanied by a marked inhibition of ryclin A, cyclin 31 and Cdc2 protein. However, the levels of tumor suppressor p53 and Cdk inhibitor p21 mRNA and protein expression were significantly increased by sulforaphane treatment in a concentration-dependent manner. Although further studies are needed, the present work suggests that sulforaphane may be a potential rhemoprevetiveichemotherapeucc agent for the treatment of human cancer cells.