Isoliquiritigenin Inhibits Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Overcomes Chemoresistance by Destruction of Survivin.

The oncoprotein survivin plays a pivotal role in controlling cell division and preventing apoptosis by inhibiting caspase activation. Its significant contribution to tumorigenesis and therapeutic resistance has been well established. Isoliquiritigenin (ISL), a natural compound, has been recognized for its powerful inhibitory effects against various tumors. However, whether ISL exerts regulatory effects on survivin and its underlying mechanism in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains unclear. Here, we found that ISL inhibited the viability and colony formation of OSCC, and promoted their apoptosis. The immunoblotting data showed that ISL treatment significantly decreased survivin expression. Mechanistically, ISL suppressed survivin phosphorylation on Thr34 by deregulating Akt-Wee1-CDK1 signaling, which facilitated survivin for ubiquitination degradation. ISL inhibited CAL27 tumor growth and decreased p-Akt and survivin expression in vivo. Meanwhile, survivin overexpression caused cisplatin resistance of OSCC cells. ISL alone or combined with cisplatin overcame chemoresistance in OSCC cells. Overall, our results revealed that ISL exerted potent inhibitory effects via inducing Akt-dependent survivin ubiquitination in OSCC cells.

Gastrodin overcomes chemoresistance via inhibiting Skp2-mediated glycolysis.

Aerobic glycolysis, a typical phenotype in human tumors, is associated with tumor progression and chemotherapy resistance. The present study demonstrated that cisplatin-resistant oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells exerted a stronger glycolysis ability, which was associated with hexokinase 2 (HK2) overexpression. Additionally, the tumor growth of OSCC cells was delayed in vivo and the glycolysis was notably decreased following HK2 knockdown. The natural compound screening revealed that gastrodin could be an effective candidate for OSCC therapy since it inhibited HK2-mediated glucose metabolism and promoted endogenous OSCC cell apoptosis. Furthermore, gastrodin could bind to protein kinase B (Akt) and suppress its activity, thus downregulating HK2 at the transcriptional level. Additionally, S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (Skp2) was highly expressed in OSCC cells, while K63-linked ubiquitination of Akt was inhibited in Skp2-depleted cisplatin-resistant OSCC cells. Gastrodin could also inhibit the cisplatin resistance of OSCC cells in vivo, particularly when combined with the Skp2 inhibitor, SZL P1-41. Overall, the aforementioned finding suggested that targeting the Skp2-Akt axis could be a potential therapeutic strategy for treating OSCC and overcoming chemoresistance.

Epigallocatechin gallate inhibits human tongue carcinoma cells via HK2­mediated glycolysis.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), one of the major catechins found in green tea, was suggested to play a role as a chemopreventive agent in various human cancer models. In this study, we reported that EGCG has a profound antitumor effect on human tongue carcinoma cells by directly regulating glycolysis. EGCG dose-dependently inhibited anchorage-independent growth and short-term EGCG exposure substantially decreased EGF-induced EGF receptor (EGFR), Akt and ERK1/2 activation, as well as the downregulation of hexokinase 2 (HK2). Furthermore, inhibition of EGCG­mediated HK2 expression was involved in Akt, but not in ERK1/2 signaling pathway suppression. Overexpression of constitutively activated Akt1 rescued inhibition of EGCG­induced glycolysis. Moreover, EGCG inhibited HK2 expression on mitochondrial outer membrane and induced apoptosis. In summary, the results suggested that EGCG or a related analogue, may have a role in the management of human tongue carcinoma.

Arecoline inhibits epithelial cell viability by upregulating the apoptosis pathway: implication for oral submucous fibrosis.

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the accumulation of excess collagen, and areca nut chewing has been proposed as a significant etiological factor for disease manifestation. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms regarding areca nut chewing-induced OSF are only partially understood. Herein, we reported that arecoline markedly induced morphologic change in HaCaT epithelial cells, but had no obvious effect on Hel fibroblast cells. MTS assay revealed that arecoline significantly suppressed HaCaT cell viability. Moreover, flow cytometric analysis indicated that arecoline substantially promoted HaCaT cell, but not Hel cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, arecoline-induced HaCaT cell apoptosis was found to be associated with increased expression and activation of cleaved-Bid, cleaved-PARA and cleaved-caspase-3. Collectively, our results suggest that HaCaT epithelial cells are more sensitive than Hel fibroblast cells to arecoline-induced cytotoxicity, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of OSF.

Arecoline suppresses HaCaT cell proliferation through cell cycle regulatory molecules.

Betel nut chewing is the most common cause of oral submucous fibrosis (OSF). Arecoline is the main component of the betel nut, and is associated with the occurrence and development of OSF through cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and DNA damage. Similar types of stimuli elicit differential responses in different cells. In the present study, we investigated the effects of arecoline on the HaCaT epithelial and Hel fibroblast cell lines. The data showed that arecoline affected HaCaT cell morphology. MTT assay revealed that arecoline suppressed HaCaT cell proliferation. Furthermore, we found that arecoline induced the cell cycle arrest of HaCaT cells. In comparison with the untreated control cells, following treatment with ≥75 µg/ml arecoline an increased percentage of HaCaT cells remained at the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle, accompanied by a reduced percentage of cells in the S phase. However, arecoline treatment did not significantly alter Hel cell cycle distribution. In the HaCaT epithelial cells, arecoline downregulated expression of the G1/S phase regulatory proteins cyclin D1, CDK4, CDK2, E2F1 as determined by reverse transcription-PCR analysis and western blotting. In summary, arecoline inhibits HaCaT epithelial cell proliferation and survival, in a dose-dependent manner, and cell cycle arrest in the G1/S phase, while this is not obvious in the Hel fibroblast cells. Potentially, our findings may aid in the prevention of arecoline-associated human OSF.