Mohammad Rahmati Yamchi, Somayyeh Ghareghomi, Gholamreza Haddadchi, Majid Mobasseri, Yousef Rasmi
Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran E-mail :
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2013;14(11):6945-8. doi: 10.7314/apjcp.2013.14.11.6945.
Diosgenin, a steroidal saponin from a therapeutic herb, fenugreek (Trigonellafoenum-graceum L.), has been recognized to have anticancer properties. Telomerase activity is not detected in typical healthy cells, while in cancer cell telomerase expression is reactivated, therefore providing a promising cancer therapeutic target.
We studied the inhibitory effect of diosgenin on human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (hTERT) expression which is critical for telomerase activity. MTT- assays and qRT-PCR analysis were conducted to assess cytotoxicity and hTERT gene expression inhibition effects, respectively.
MTT results showed that IC50 values for 24, 48 and 72h after treatment were 47, 44 and 43μM, respectively. Culturing cells with diosgenin treatment caused down-regulation of hTERT expression.
These results show that diosgenin inhibits telomerase activity by down-regulation of hTERT gene expression in the A549 lung cancer cell line.
薯蓣皂苷元是一种来自药用植物胡芦巴（Trigonella foenum-graceum L.）的甾体皂苷，已被公认具有抗癌特性。在典型的健康细胞中检测不到端粒酶活性，而在癌细胞中端粒酶表达被重新激活，因此提供了一个有前景的癌症治疗靶点。
我们研究了薯蓣皂苷元对人端粒酶逆转录酶基因（hTERT）表达的抑制作用，该基因对端粒酶活性至关重要。分别进行MTT试验和qRT-PCR分析以评估细胞毒性和hTERT基因表达抑制效果。
MTT结果显示，处理后24、48和72小时的IC50值分别为47、44和43μM。用薯蓣皂苷元处理培养细胞导致hTERT表达下调。
这些结果表明，薯蓣皂苷元通过下调A549肺癌细胞系中的hTERT基因表达来抑制端粒酶活性。
