The microRNA-193a-5p induced ROS production and disturbed colocalization between STAT3 and androgen receptor play critical roles in cornin induced apoptosis.

Though cornin is known to induce angiogenic, cardioprotective, and apoptotic effects, the apoptotic mechanism of this iridoid monoglucoside is not fully understood in prostate cancer cells to date. To elucidate the antitumor mechanism of cornin, cytotoxicity assay, cell cycle analysis, Western blotting, RT-qPCR, RNA interference, immunofluorescence, immunoprecipitation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) measurement, and inhibitor assay were applied in this work. Cornin exerted cytotoxicity, increased sub-G1 population, and cleaved PARP and caspase3 in LNCaP cells more than in DU145 cells. Consistently, cornin suppressed phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and disrupted the colocalization of STAT3 and androgen receptor (AR) in LNCaP and DU145 cells, along with suppression of AR, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and 5α-reductase in LNCaP cells. Furthermore, cornin increased ROS production and the level of miR-193a-5p, while ROS inhibitor N-acetylcysteine disturbed the ability of cornin to attenuate the expression of AR, p-STAT3, PSA, pro-PARP, and pro-caspase3 in LNCaP cells. Notably, miR-193a-5p mimics the enhanced apoptotic effect of cornin, while miR-193a-5p inhibitor reverses the ability of cornin to abrogate AR, PSA, and STAT3 in LNCaP cells. Our findings suggest that ROS production and the disturbed crosstalk between STAT3 and AR by microRNA-193a-5p are critically involved in the apoptotic effect of cornin in prostate cancer cells.

Anti-Warburg effect via generation of ROS and inhibition of PKM2/ß-catenin mediates apoptosis of lambertianic acid in prostate cancer cells.

To elucidate the underlying antitumor mechanism of lambertianic acid (LA) derived from Pinus koraiensis, the role of cancer metabolism related molecules was investigated in the apoptotic effect of LA in DU145 and PC3 prostate cancer cells. MTT assay for cytotoxicity, RNA interference, cell cycle analysis for sub G1 population, nuclear and cytoplasmic extraction, lactate, Glucose and ATP assay by ELISA, Measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, Western blotting, and immunoprecipitation assay were conducted in DU145 and PC3 prostate cancer cells. Herein LA exerted cytotoxicity, increased sub G1 population and attenuated the expression of pro-Caspase3 and pro-poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (pro-PARP) in DU145 and PC3 cells. Also, LA reduced the expression of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), glycolytic enzymes such as hexokinase 2 and pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) with reduced production of lactate in DU145 and PC3 cells. Notably, LA decreased phosphorylation of PKM2 on Tyr105 and inhibited the expression of p-STAT3, cyclin D1, C-Myc, ß-catenin, and p-GSK3ß with the decrease of nuclear translocation of p-PKM2. Furthermore, LA disturbed the binding of p-PKM2 and ß-catenin in DU145 cells, which was supported by Spearman coefficient (0.0463) of cBioportal database. Furthermore, LA generated ROS in DU145 and PC3 cells, while ROS scavenger NAC (N-acetyl L-cysteine) blocked the ability of LA to reduce p-PKM2, PKM2, ß-catenin, LDHA, and pro-caspase3 in DU145 cells. Taken together, these findings provide evidence that LA induces apoptosis via ROS generation and inhibition of PKM2/ß-catenin signaling in prostate cancer cells.

Suppression of phosphoinositide 3-kinase/phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1/serum and glucocorticoid-induced protein kinase pathway.

In the current study, the pivotal roles of serum and glucocorticoid-induced protein kinase (SGK1) and NF-kB related signalings known as prognostic biomarkers in cervical cancers were explored in the antitumor effect of a ginseng saponin metabolite compound K (CK) in HeLa and SiHa cervical cancer cells. CK exerted significant cytotoxicity, induced sub-G1 accumulation, and attenuated the expression of proPoly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (pro-PARP) and Pro-cysteine aspartyl-specific protease (pro-caspase3) in HeLa cells more than in SiHa cells. CK inhibited phosphorylation of SGK1 and its upstream genes, phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K), and phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 (PDK1) in HeLa cells. In addition, CK suppressed the phosphorylation of SGK1, NF-κB, and inhibitor of kappa B (IκB) and also NF-κB target genes such as X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) in HeLa cells. Notably, Immunoprecipitation revealed that SGK1 binds to PI3K or PDK1 and also CK disturbed the binding between SGK1 and PI3K or PDK1 in HeLa cells. Furthermore, PI3K inhibitor LY294002 decreased expression of PI3K, p-PDK1, p-SGK1, and pro-caspase3 and SGK1 inhibitor GSK650394 also reduced expression of NF-κB and pro-caspase3 just like CK in HeLa cells. Overall, these findings suggest that CK induces apoptosis via suppression of PI3K/PDK1/SGK1 and NF-κB signaling axis.

Apoptotic Effect of Astragalin in Melanoma Skin Cancers via Activation of Caspases and Inhibition of Sry-related HMg-Box Gene 10.

Though Astragalin (kaempferol-3-glucoside) contained in Paeonia lactiflora and other plants was known to have anti-oxidant, antiinflammatory, and anti-tumor activity, the anti-tumor mechanism of Astragalin has never been reported in melanomas until now. Thus, in the present study, the underlying apoptotic mechanism of Astragalin isolated from Aceriphyllum rossii was elucidated in A375P and SK-MEL-2 melanoma cells. Astragalin exerted cytotoxicity in A375P and SK-MEL-2 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Also, Astragalin significantly increased the number of TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling positive cells and sub-G1 population as a feature of apoptosis in A375P and SK-MEL-2 cells compared with untreated control. Consistently, western blotting revealed that Astragalin activated caspase 9/3 and Bax, cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, and attenuated the expression of cyclin D1, Mcl-1, and Sry-related HMg-Box gene 10 (SOX10) in A375P and SK-MEL-2 cells. Of note, ectopic expression of SOX10 reduced the apoptotic ability of Astragalin to inhibit proliferation, cleave poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, and caspase 3 in A375P and SK-MEL-2 melanoma cells. Overall, our findings provide evidence that Astragalin induces apoptosis in A375P and SK-MEL-2 melanoma cells via activation of caspase9/3 and inhibition of SOX10 signaling. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of ethyl acetate fraction of Polygonum cuspidatum in experimental animals.

Polygonum cuspidatum (PC) has been used for the treatment of arthritis and urinary diseases in traditional medicine. Despite recent evidence that PC has anti-oxidant, anti-tumoral, and anti-inflammatory effects, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of PC have not been elucidated yet in vivo. Thus, in the present study, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of ethyl acetate extract of PC (EAPC) were investigated in vivo for the first time. Hot plate test and tail-flick test revealed that EAPC at 200 mg/kg exerts analgesic effect (p < 0.05). In contrast, EAPC did not show significant analgesic effect in acetic acid-induced writhing test. Serotonin-induced paw edema model and Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA)-induced adjuvant arthritis model were used to examine anti-inflammatory effect of EAPC in vivo. In serotonin-induced paw edema model, EAPC suppressed swelling inflammatory response within 12 min after serotonin injection, at both 100- and 200-mg/kg dose (p < 0.05). Consistently, in FCA-induced adjuvant arthritis model, FCA at 200 mg/kg significantly suppressed FCA-induced joint swelling within 3 days (p < 0.05), whereas FCA at 100 mg/kg showed the similar result within 5 days (p < 0.05). Furthermore, EAPC effectively inhibited positive responses of c-reactive protein and rheumatoid factor compared to untreated control. Taken together, our findings suggest that EAPC can be a potent candidate for rheumatoid arthritis treatment.

The genome-wide expression profile of 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-ß-D-glucose-treated MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells: molecular target on cancer metabolism.

1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucose (PGG), a polyphenolic compound isolated from Rhus chinensis Mill. PGG has been known to have anti-tumor, anti-angiogenic and anti-diabetic activities. The present study revealed another underlying molecular target of PGG in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells by using Illumina Human Ref-8 expression BeadChip assay. Through the Beadstudio v3 micro assay program to compare the identified genes expressed in PGG-treated MDA-MB-231 cells with untreated control, we found several unique genes that are closely associated with pyruvate metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and tyrosine metabolism, including PC, ACSS2, ACACA, ACYP2, ALDH3B1, FBP1, PRMT2 and COMT. Consistent with microarray data, real-time RT-PCR confirmed the significant down-regulation of these genes at mRNA level in PGG-treated MDA-MB-231 cells. Our findings suggest the potential of PGG as anticancer agent for breast cancer cells by targeting cancer metabolism genes.

Acupuncture for symptom management of rheumatoid arthritis: a pilot study.

We investigated the feasibility of a future acupuncture trial in the symptom management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Twenty-five patients meeting the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria were recruited and given 14 sessions of individualised acupuncture treatment for 6 weeks. Improvement in symptoms was assessed using ACR 20, 50 and 70; disease activity score (DAS28); tender joint count; swollen joint count; morning stiffness and health-related quality of life using the Korean Health Assessment Questionnaire and the SF-36 at baseline and after 6 weeks. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was also assessed. At 6 weeks, 44%, 20%, and 12% of patients achieved ACR 20, 50 and 70 responses, respectively. Acupuncture also produced statistically significant improvements in DAS28, pain and global activity, swollen joint count, health-related quality of life (SF-36) and ESR. No major acupuncture-related adverse events were reported. Acupuncture treatment as used in this pilot study was safe and well-tolerated. The use of acupuncture for symptom management in RA warrants further investigation.