Dioscin inhibits SCC15 cell proliferation via the RASSF1A/MST2/YAP axis.

Dioscin, an extract from traditional Chinese herbal plants, displays various biological and pharmacological effects on tumors, including inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of DNA damage. However, the effects of dioscin on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells are not completely understood. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of dioscin on OSCC cell proliferation. Cell Counting Kit­8 and 5­ethynyl­2'­deoxyuridine incorporation assays were performed to assess cell proliferation. Flow cytometry was conducted to detect alterations in the cell cycle and cell apoptosis. Western blotting and coimmunoprecipitation were performed to determine protein expression levels. In SCC15 cells, dioscin treatment significantly induced cell cycle arrest, increased apoptosis and inhibited proliferation compared with the control group. Mechanistically, the tumor suppressor protein Ras association domain­containing protein 1A (RASSF1A) was activated and oncoprotein yes­associated protein (YAP) was phosphorylated by dioscin. Furthermore, YAP overexpression and knockdown reduced and enhanced the inhibitory effects of dioscin on SCC15 cells, respectively. In summary, the results demonstrated that, compared with the control group, dioscin upregulated RASSF1A expression in OSCC cells, which resulted in YAP phosphorylation, thus weakening its transcriptional coactivation function, enhancing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, and inhibiting cell proliferation. The present study indicated that dioscin may serve as a therapeutic agent for OSCC.

San Huang Decoction Targets Aurora Kinase A to Inhibit Tumor Angiogenesis in Breast Cancer.

San Huang Decoction (SHD), a Chinese herb formula, has been popularly prescribed in the clinical treatment of patients suffering from breast cancer. The aim of this study was to explore the anti-angiogenic effects of SHD in breast cancer and explain the underlying mechanism. Transwell and Matrigel assays showed that SHD reduced human umbilical vein endothelial cell migration and tubule formation and ELISA and qRT-PCR assays demonstrated its mediation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. siRNA silencing of aurora kinase A (AURKA) produced results similar to those obtained by inhibition of AURKA with SHD. In addition, a chorioallantoic membrane assay was carried out to directly examine the effect of SHD on breast cancer anti-angiogenesis and immunofluorescence and immunohistochemical staining analysis showed that SHD reduced the expression of CD31, AURKA, and VEGF in a xenograft model. Furthermore, SHD regulated extracellular signal-regulated kinase expression in breast cancer cells, which was examined by western blotting. In conclusion, our findings indicated that SHD treatment mimicked the decrease in tumor neovascularization in breast cancer cells after the siRNA-mediated knockdown of AURKA. Thus, SHD may inhibit tumor angiogenesis in breast cancer by targeting AURKA and downregulating the ERK signaling pathway.

San Huang Decoction downregulates Aurora kinase A to inhibit breast cancer cell growth and enhance chemosenstivity to anti-tumor drugs.

Our study aimed to explore whether San Huang Decoction (SHD) inhibited the development of breast cancer by regulating Aurora A. Human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 were cultured and SHD extract was prepared. Cell growth assay and apoptosis analysis were respectively performed to detect the effects of SHD on breast cancer cells. In addition, the effects of SHD on the expression of Aurora A and p53 were determined by RT-PCR and western blot. Besides, we used Aurora A siRNA to knock down Aurora A. We then co-administrated SHD and tamoxifen or epirubicin to detect the effect of SHD on chemosensitivity to tamoxifen or epirubicin. SHD treatment significantly inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, SHD treatment resulted in a marked decrease in Aurora A expression and obvious increase in p53 expression. In addition, knockdown of Aurora A induced cell growth inhibition, which was similar to the effect of SHD treatment. Besides, SHD exerted an additive effect on cell growth inhibition and apoptosis induction when breast cancer cells were co-administration of SHD with tamoxifen or epirubicin. Our study indicates that SHD treatment may inhibit cell growth and enhance chemosenstivity to other anti-tumor drugs in breast cancer via down-regulation of Aurora A.