Anti-Cancer Effects of Glaucarubinone in the Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Line Huh7 via Regulation of the Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition-Associated Transcription Factor Twist1.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer, is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. As HCC has a high mortality rate and its incidence is increasing worldwide, understanding and treating HCC are crucial for resolving major public health concerns. In the present study, wound healing screening assays were performed using natural product libraries to identify natural chemicals that can inhibit cancer cell migration. Glaucarubinone (GCB) showed a high potential for inhibiting cell migration. The anti-cancer effects of GCB were evaluated using the HCC cell line, Huh7. GCB showed anti-cancer effects, as verified by wound healing, cell migration, invasion, colony formation, and three-dimensional spheroid invasion assays. In addition, cells treated with GCB showed suppressed matrix metalloproteinase activities. Immunoblotting analyses of intracellular signaling pathways revealed that GCB regulated the levels of Twist1, a crucial transcription factor associated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and mitogen-activated protein kinase. The invasive ability of cancer cells was found to be decreased by the regulation of Twist1 protein levels. Furthermore, GCB downregulated phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase. These results indicate that GCB exhibits anti-metastatic properties in Huh7 cells, suggesting that it could be used to treat HCC.

Glaucarubinone inhibits colorectal cancer growth by suppression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α and ß-catenin via a p-21 activated kinase 1-dependent pathway.

p-21-Activated kinase 1 (PAK1) enhances colorectal cancer (CRC) progression by stimulating Wnt/ß-catenin, ERK and AKT pathways. PAK1 also promotes CRC survival via up-regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), a key player in cancer survival. Glaucarubinone, a quassinoid natural product, inhibits pancreatic cancer growth by down-regulation of PAK1. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of glaucarubinone on CRC growth and metastasis, and the mechanism involved. Cell proliferation was measured in vitro by [(3)H]-thymidine incorporation and in vivo by volume of tumor xenografts. Protein concentrations were measured by Western blotting of cell extracts. We report here that glaucarubinone inhibited CRC growth both in vitro and in vivo. The potency of glaucarubinone as an inhibitor of cell proliferation was negatively correlated to PAK1 expression in CRC cells. Glaucarubinone suppressed the expression of HIF-1α and ß-catenin. Knockdown of PAK1 by shRNA enhanced inhibition by glaucarubinone while constitutively active PAK1 blocked the inhibitory effect. Our findings indicate that glaucarubinone inhibited CRC growth by down-regulation of HIF-1α and ß-catenin via a PAK1-dependent pathway.

Fundamental studies on the feasibility of deep eutectic solvents for the selective partition of glaucarubinone present in the roots of Simarouba glauca.

Several deep eutectic solvents prepared by the complexation of choline chloride as the hydrogen bond acceptor and hydrogen bond donors such as urea, thiourea, ethylene glycol, and glycerol were employed to partition glaucarubinone, an antimalarial compound present in roots of the plant, Simarouba glauca. Among all the solvents, the deep eutectic solvent consisting of the mixture of choline chloride and urea the most suitable to partition the antimalarial compound from the extract selectively. Analytical tools such as high-performance liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry were used for characterizations, and glaucarubinone extracted from the roots of the plant by conventional solvent extraction method was used as a reference for comparison. The hydrogen and noncovalent bonds formed between glaucarubinone and the deep eutectic solvents could be responsible for the selective partition of the drug molecule.

Glaucarubinone from Simarouba glauca DC. as a potential biocontrol agent for mosquito vector management.

The study explored Simarouba glauca DC. for mosquito larvicidal potential by performing bioactivity-guided chemical investigation of its root extract resulting in isolation of the known bioactive metabolite glaucarubinone (1). Mosquito larvicidal activity of glaucarubinone (1) against the three vector species viz. Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti, and Culex quinquefasciatus was determined using a modified WHO 2005 protocol. It was observed that Culex quinquefasciatus larvae were the most susceptible species with LC50 13.88 ppm and LC90 70.01 ppm followed by Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi at 24 h of exposure. The mode of action as observed microscopically is the lysis of midgut and thorax cells of the third instar larvae. The crystal structure of the glaucarubinone (1) is reported for the first time using X-ray crystallography. This phytochemical product has the potential to act as a green alternative to existing chemical-based insecticides for integrated vector management.

Glaucarubinone Combined with Gemcitabine Improves Pancreatic Cancer Survival in an Immunocompetent Orthotopic Murine Model.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer continues to have a poor survival rate with an urgent need for improved treatments. Glaucarubinone, a natural product first isolated from the seeds of the tree Simarouba glauca, has recently been recognized as having anti-cancer properties that may be particularly applicable to pancreatic cancer. METHODS: The effect of glaucarubinone on the growth and migration of murine pancreatic cancer cells was assessed by 3H-thymidine incorporation assay. The survival impact of glaucarubinone alone and in combination with gemcitabine chemotherapy was assessed using an immunocompetent orthotopic murine model of pancreatic cancer. RESULTS: Glaucarubinone inhibited the growth of the murine pancreatic cancer cell lines LM-P and PAN02. Treatment with either glaucarubinone or gemcitabine reduced proliferation in vitro and the combination was synergistic. The combination treatment improved survival two-fold compared to gemcitabine treatment alone (p = 0.046) in PAN02 cells. CONCLUSIONS: The synergistic inhibition by glaucarubinone and gemcitabine observed in vitro and the improved survival in vivo suggest that glaucarubinone may be a useful adjunct to current chemotherapy regimens.

Glaucarubinone sensitizes KB cells to paclitaxel by inhibiting ABC transporters via ROS-dependent and p53-mediated activation of apoptotic signaling pathways.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is considered to be the major contributor to failure of chemotherapy in oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). This study was aimed to explore the effects and mechanisms of glaucarubinone (GLU), one of the major quassinoids from Simarouba glauca DC, in potentiating cytotoxicity of paclitaxel (PTX), an anticancer drug in KB cells. Our data showed that the administration of GLU pre-treatment significantly enhanced PTX anti-proliferative effect in ABCB1 over-expressing KB cells. The Rh 123 drug efflux studies revealed that there was a significant transport function inhibition by GLU-PTX treatment. Interestingly, it was also found that this enhanced anticancer efficacy of GLU was associated with PTX-induced cell arrest in the G2/M phase of cell cycle. Further, the combined treatment of GLU-PTX had significant decrease in the expression levels of P-gp, MRPs, and BCRP in resistant KB cells at both mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore, the combination treatments showed significant reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, chromatin condensation and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential in resistant KB cells. The results from DNA fragmentation analysis also demonstrated the GLU induced apoptosis in KB cells and its synergy with PTX. Importantly, GLU and/or PTX triggered apoptosis through the activation of pro-apoptotic proteins such as p53, Bax, and caspase-9. Our findings demonstrated for the first time that GLU causes cell death in human oral cancer cells via the ROS-dependent suppression of MDR transporters and p53-mediated activation of the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. Additionally, the present study also focussed on investigation of the protective effect of GLU and combination drugs in human normal blood lymphocytes. Normal blood lymphocytes assay indicated that GLU is able to induce selective toxicity in cancer cells and in silico molecular docking studies support the choice of GLU as ABC inhibitor to enhance PTX efficacy. Thus, GLU has the potential to enhance the activity of PTX and hence can be a good alternate treatment strategy for the reversal of PTX resistance.

Glaucarubinone and gemcitabine synergistically reduce pancreatic cancer growth via down-regulation of P21-activated kinases.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal of human malignancies. Nearly 100% cases of pancreatic cancer carry mutations in KRas. P-21-activated kinases (PAKs) are activated by and act downstream of KRas. Glaucarubinone, a natural product first isolated from the seeds of the tree Simarouba glauca, was originally developed as an antimalarial drug, and has more recently been recognised as an anticancer agent. The aims of this study were to determine whether glaucarubinone, alone or in combination with the front-line chemotherapeutic agent gemcitabine, would inhibit the growth of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro or in vivo and the mechanism involved. Growth of the human pancreatic cancer cell lines PANC-1 and MiaPaCa-2 was measured by (3)H-thymidine incorporation in vitro, and by volume as xenografts in SCID mice. The expression and activities of the two serine/threonine kinases PAK1 and PAK4, which are key regulators of cancer progression, were measured by Western blotting. Here we report that glaucarubinone decreased proliferation and migration of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro, and reduced their growth as xenografts in vivo. Treatment with glaucarubinone and gemcitabine reduced proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo more than treatment with either glaucarubinone or gemcitabine alone. Treatment with glaucarubinone reduced PAK1 and PAK4 activities, which were further decreased by the combination of glaucarubinone and gemcitabine. These results indicate that glaucarubinone reduced pancreatic cancer cell growth at least in part via inhibition of pathways involving PAK1 and PAK4. The synergistic inhibition by glaucarubinone and gemcitabine observed both in vitro and in vivo suggests that glaucarubinone may be a useful adjunct to current regimes of chemotherapy.