A1E inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in NCI-H460 lung cancer cells via extrinsic and intrinsic pathways.

It has been reported that extracts from Asian traditional/medical herbs possess therapeutic agents against cancers, metabolic diseases, inflammatory diseases, and other intractable diseases. In this study, we assessed the molecular mechanisms involved in the anticancer effects of A1E, the extract of Korean medicinal herbs. We examined the role of the cytotoxic and apoptotic pathways in the cancer chemopreventive activity in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines NCI-H460 and NCI-H1299. A1E inhibited the proliferation of NCI-H460 more efficiently than NCI-H1299 (p53(-/-)) cells. The apoptosis was detected by nuclear morphological changes, annexin V-FITC/PI staining, cell cycle analysis, western blot, RT-PCR, and measurement of mitochondrial membrane potential. A1E induced cellular morphological changes and nuclear condensation at 24 h in a dose-dependent manner. A1E also perturbed cell cycle progression at the sub-G1 stage and altered cell cycle regulatory factors in NCI-H460 cells. Furthermore, A1E inhibited the PI3K/Akt and NF-κB survival pathways, and it activated apoptotic intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. A1E increased the expression levels of members of the extrinsic death receptor complex FasL and FADD. In addition, A1E treatment induced cleavage of caspase-8, caspase-9, caspase-3, and poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP), whereas the expression levels of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl were downregulated. A1E induced mitochondrial membrane potential collapse and cytochrome C release. Our results suggest that A1E induces apoptosis via activation of both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways and inhibition of PI3K/Akt survival signaling pathways in NCI-H460 cells. In conclusion, these data demonstrate the potential of A1E as a novel chemotherapeutic agent in NSCLC.