Evodiamine Induces Cell Growth Arrest, Apoptosis and Suppresses Tumorigenesis in Human Urothelial Cell Carcinoma Cells.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND/AIM: Evodiamine, an indole alkaloid derived from Evodia rutaecarpa, exhibits pharmacological activities including vasodilatation, analgesia, anti-cardiovascular disease, anti-Alzheimer's disease, anti-inflammation, and anti-tumor activity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study analyzes the anti-tumor effects of evodiamine on cellular growth, tumorigenesis, cell cycle and apoptosis induction of human urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) cells. RESULTS: The present study showed that evodiamine significantly inhibited the proliferation of UCC cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Also, evodiamine suppressed the tumorigenesis of UCC cells in vitro. Moreover, evodiamine caused G2/M cell-cycle arrest and induced caspase-dependent apoptosis in UCC cells. Finally, we demonstrated that evodiamine exhibits better cytotoxic than 5-fluorouracil, a clinical chemotherapeutic drug, for UCC cells. CONCLUSION: Evodiamine induces growth inhibition, tumorigenesis suppression, cell-cycle arrest, and apoptosis induction in human UCC cells. Therefore, this agent displays a therapeutic potential for treating human UCC cells and is worthy for further investigation.