Zhang Tao, Wang Ke, Zhang Junshu, Wang Xiaolei, Chen Zhigang, Ni Chao, Qiu Fuming, Huang Jian
Cancer Institute (Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, National Ministry of Education, Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Medical Sciences), Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, P.R. China ; Preventive and Health Care, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, P.R. China.
Oncol Lett. 2013 Apr;5(4):1171-1176. doi: 10.3892/ol.2013.1145. Epub 2013 Jan 21.
The existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) is central to the pathogenesis and therapy resistance of colorectal cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether Huaier aqueous extract, a Chinese medicine, has efficacy against CSCs and to investigate the mechanisms of its anticancer effects. It was observed that the Huaier extract significantly inhibited the spheroid formation potential (P<0.05) and decreased the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH)-positive cell population in colorectal primary cancer cells (P<0.05). Western blotting analysis and Wnt/β-catenin reporter assays revealed that the Huaier extract downregulated the Wnt/β-catenin self-renewal pathway. This is the first study to demonstrate that Huaier aqueous extract acts as an effective agent for eradicating colorectal CSCs and identifies the Wnt/β-catenin pathway as its potential target, which may be a new approach for colorectal cancer therapy.
癌症干细胞（CSCs）的存在是结直肠癌发病机制和治疗抗性的核心。本研究的目的是评估中药槐耳水提取物对癌症干细胞是否有效，并探究其抗癌作用机制。观察到槐耳提取物显著抑制了结直肠癌原代细胞的球状体形成能力（P<0.05），并减少了醛脱氢酶（ALDH）阳性细胞群体（P<0.05）。蛋白质印迹分析和Wnt/β-连环蛋白报告基因检测显示，槐耳提取物下调了Wnt/β-连环蛋白自我更新途径。这是第一项证明槐耳水提取物可作为根除结直肠癌干细胞的有效药物的研究，并确定Wnt/β-连环蛋白途径为其潜在靶点，这可能是结直肠癌治疗的一种新方法。
