• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.355-362
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• 2014

We have developed a fully automated high throughput drug screening (HTDS) system based on the microfluidic cell culture array to perform combinational chemotherapy. This system has 64 individually addressable cell culture chambers where the sequential combinatorial concentrations of two different drugs can be generated by two microfluidic diffusive mixers. Each diffusive mixer has two integrated micropumps connected to the media and the drug reservoirs respectively for generating the desired combination without the need for any extra equipment to perfuse the solution such as syringe pumps. The cell array is periodically exposed to the drug combination with the programmed LabVIEW system during a couple of days without extra handling after seeding the cells into the microfluidic device and also, this device does not require the continuous generation of solutions compared to the previous systems. Therefore, the total amount of drug being consumed per experiment is less than a few hundred micro liters in each reservoir. The utility of this system is demonstrated through investigating the viability of the prostate cancer PC3 cell line with the combinational treatments of curcumin and tumor necrosis factor-alpha related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL). Our results suggest that the system can be used for screening and optimizing drug combination with a small amount of reagent for combinatorial chemotherapy against cancer cells.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.1140-1146
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• 2006

Ceramide analogs are potential chemotherapeutic agents. We report that a ceramide analog induces apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells. The ceramide analog induced cell death through an apoptotic mechanism, which was demonstrated by DNA fragmentation, the cleavage of poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP), and a loss of membrane asymmetry. Treating the cells with ceramide analog resulted in the release of various proapoptotic mitochondrial proteins including cytochrome c and Smac/DIBLO into the cytosol, and a decrease in the mitochondrial membrane potential. In addition, the ceramide analog decreased the phospho-Akt and phospho-Bad levels. The expression of the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 decreased slightly with increasing Bax to Bcl-2 ratio. These results suggest that the ceramide analog induces apoptosis by regulating multiple signaling pathways that involve the mitochondrial pathway.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Toxicology Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.150-150
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• 2001

$\beta$ -lapachone, the product of a tree (Tabebuia avellanedae) from South America, is known to exhibit various pharmacologic properties, the mechanisms of which are poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to further elucidate the possible mechanisms by which $\beta$-lapachone exerts its anti-proliferative action in cultured human prostate cancer cells.(omitted)

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1791-1795
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• 2013

Aims and Background: Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the male reproductive system, which causes the second most cancer deaths of males, and control of angiogenesis in prostate lesions is of obvious importance. This study assessed the effect of apogossypolone (ApoG2) on proliferation and apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Subjects and Methods: HUVECs were treated with different concentrations of ApoG2. The survival rate of HUVECs were determined by MTT assay. Utrastructural changes of HUVECs were assessed with transmission electron microscopy. Apoptosis in HUVECs was analyzed by flow cytometry and cell migration by Boyden chamber assay. Matrigel assays were used to quantify the development of tube-like networks. Results: ApoG2 significantly inhibited HUVEC growth even at 24 h (P<0.05). The inhibitory effect of ApoG2 is more obvious as the concentration and the culture time increased (P<0.05). These results indicate that ApoG2 inhibits the proliferation of HUVECs in a time- and concentration-dependent manner with increase of the apoptosis rate. Besides, ApoG2 reduced the formation of total pseudotubule length and network branches of HUVECs. Conclusions: The results suggest that ApoG2 inhibits angiogenesis of HUVECs by growth inhibition and apoptosis induction.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.106-114
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• 2021

We evaluated the anti-cancer activity against human prostate cancer cells and the associated molecular mechanism of extracts from the branches of Rhamnus yoshinoi (RYB). Treatment with RYB suppressed viability of human prostate cancer cells (PC-3) and decreased protein levels of both β-catenin and T-cell factor 4 (TCF4). This was reflected in reduced TCF4 mRNA, but not decreased β-catenin mRNA. PC-3 cells were pretreated with the proteosome inhibitor MG132 before treatment with RYB, which blocked RYB-mediated down regulation of β-catenin in PC-3 cells, thus confirming that RYB promotes the proteasomal degradation of β-catenin. RYB induced β-catenin phosphorylation, and GSK-3β inhibition by LiCl blocked the phosphorylation and proteasomal degradation of β-catenin by RYB. These results suggest that GSK-3β may be an important upstream kinase for RYB-mediated regulation of β-catenin. Finally, GC/MS analysis of RYB identified 18 compounds. Based on these findings, RYB shows potential for development as a therapeutic agent for prostate cancer.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.551-557
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• 2020

In this study, we were performed to elucidate the antioxidant and anticancer activity by leaves extracts from Acer tegmentosum (AT-L). In DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging activity, the AT-L revealed the high scavenging activity. Especially, the AT-L measured the highest ABTS radical scavenging activity, which is higher than ascorbic acid. The types of human cancer cells for evaluating the anticancer activity were colorectal cancer (SW480), prostate cancer (PC-3), breast cancer (MCF-7), pancreatic cancer (AsPC-1), lung cancer (A549) and liver cancer (HepG2). Human cancer cell viability was measured using MTT assay. Treatment of the AT-L decreased the cell viability and induced apoptosis in SW480 cells. These results suggest that extracts of the AT-L can be used as supplementary material for developing the natural antioxidant and anticancer drug for human cancer cells.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.287-294
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• 2014

The transcription factor E2F1 is active during G1 to S transition and is involved in the cell cycle and progression. A recent study reported that increased E2F1 is associated with DNA damage and tumor development in several tissues using transgenic models. Here, we show that E2F1 expression is regulated by tristetraprolin (TTP) in prostate cancer. Overexpression of TTP decreased the stability of E2F1 mRNA and the expression level of E2F1. In contrast, inhibition of TTP using siRNA increased the E2F1 expression. E2F1 mRNA contains three AREs within the 3'UTR, and TTP destabilized a luciferase mRNA that contained the E2F1 mRNA 3'UTR. Analyses of point mutants of the E2F1 mRNA 3'UTR demonstrated that ARE2 was mostly responsible for the TTP-mediated destabilization of E2F1 mRNA. RNA EMSA revealed that TTP binds directly to the E2F1 mRNA 3'UTR of ARE2. Moreover, treatment with siRNA against TTP increased the proliferation of PC3 human prostate cancer cells. Taken together, these results demonstrate that E2F1 mRNA is a physiological target of TTP and suggests that TTP controls proliferation as well as migration and invasion through the regulation of E2F1 mRNA stability.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1739-1744
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• 2016

We report herein an in vitro anticancer evaluation of a series of seven curcumin analogues (3a-g). The National Cancer Institute (NCI US) Protocol was followed and all the compounds were evaluated for their anticancer activity on nine different panels (leukemia, non small cell lung cancer, colon cancer, CNS cancer, melanoma, ovarian cancer, renal cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer) represented by 60 NCI human cancer cell lines. All the compounds showed significant anticancer activity in one dose assay (drug concentration $10{\mu}M$) and hence were evaluated further in five dose assays (0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and $100{\mu}M$) and three dose related parameters $GI_{50}$, TGI and $LC_{50}$ were calculated for each (3a-g) in micro molar drug concentrations (${\mu}M$). The compound 3d (NSC 757927) showed maximum mean percent growth inhibition (PGI) of 112.2%, while compound 3g (NSC 763374) showed less mean PGI of 40.1% in the one dose assay. The maximum anticancer activity was observed with the SR (leukemia) cell line with a $GI_{50}$ of $0.03{\mu}M$. The calculated average sensitivity of all cell lines of a particular subpanel toward the test agent showed that all the curcumin analogues showed maximum activity on leukemia cell lines with $GI_{50}$ values between 0.23 and $2.67{\mu}M$.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6541-6548
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• 2013

Pigmented rice is mainly black, red, and dark purple, and contains a variety of flavones, tannin, polyphenols, sterols, tocopherols, ${\gamma}$-oryzanols, amino acids, and essential oils. The present study evaluated the cytotoxic effects of purple rice extracts (PREs) combined with chemotherapeutic drugs on human cancer cells and mechanisms of cell death. Methanolic (MeOH) and dichloromethane (DCM) extracts of three cultivars of purple rice in Thailand: Doisaket (DSK), Nan and Payao (PYO), were tested and compared with white rice (KK6). Cytotoxicity was determined by 3-(4, 5-dimethyl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2, prostate cancer LNCaP and murine normal fibroblast NIH3T3 cells. MeOH-PYO-PRE was the most cytotoxic and inhibited HepG2 cell growth more than that of LNCaP cells but was not toxic to NIH3T3 cells. When PREs were combined with paclitaxel or vinblastine, they showed additive cytotoxic effects on HepG2 and LNCaP cells, except for MeOH-PYO-PRE which showed synergistic effects on HepG2 cells when combined with vinblastine. MeOH-PYO-PRE plus vinblastine induced HepG2 cell apoptosis with loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential (MTP) but no ROS production. MeOH-PYO-PRE-treated HepG2 cells underwent apoptosis via caspase-9 and-3 activation. The level of ${\gamma}$-oryzanol was highest in DCM-PYO-PRE (44.17 mg/g) whereas anthocyanin content was high in MeOH-PYO-PRE (5.80 mg/g). In conclusion, methanolic Payao purple rice extract was mostly toxic to human HepG2 cells and synergistically enhanced the cytotoxicity of vinblastine. Human HepG2 cell apoptosis induced by MeOH-PYO-PRE and vinblastine was mediated through a mitochondrial pathway.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2009

In this study, we investigated the anti-proliferative effect of Damina 909 in human cancer cell lines and tumor-xenografted nude mice to elucidate its potential in treating many cancers. Damina 909 treatment resulted in inhibition of cell proliferation of human pancreatic cancer cells. Our in vivo study showed that the weight of pancreatic tumors in Damina 909-treated group were the lighter than control group. Consequently, the intake of food and water in Damina 909-treated group did not change, while those in control group were steadily decreased over a period of treatment. Moreover, Damina 909 treatment elevated the protein expression of p53 and p21 in pancreatic tumor of xenografted nude mice. In summary, compare to other human cancer cells such as prostate and hepatocyte, Damina 909 is most effectively inhibited proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells by increasing the expression of tumor suppressor genes. This led us to speculate that a candidate substance for effective cancer therapy of pancreatic cancer might be contained in Damina 909.