a Department of Abdominal Oncology, Cancer Center and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, West China Medical School , Sichuan University , Chengdu , Sichuan Province , People's Republic of China.
b Glasgow College , University of Electronic Science and Technology of China , Chengdu , China.
Cell Cycle. 2019 Aug;18(15):1745-1758. doi: 10.1080/15384101.2019.1632624. Epub 2019 Jun 29.
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most aggressive and lethal malignancies worldwide. Although significant progress has been made in oncology treatment, this refractory disease is still become intractable. Natural herb product diosgenin is described to exhibit vast range of pharmacological activities in preclinical studies, including anti-cancer activities. Accumulating data demonstrated that Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) as an oncogenic protein is over-expressed in various human cancers, including PC. However, the underlying mechanism has not been fully understood. In this study, we aim to investigate the anti-cancer properties and molecular basis of diosgenin in PC cells. Significant inhibition of cell proliferation was observed in diosgenin treated Patu8988 and Panc-1 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Apoptotic cell death and G2/M phase arrest were also induced by diosgenin treatment in PC cells. Moreover, obvious inhibition of cell migration and invasive capacities was detected in diosgenin treated PC cells. Mechanistically, the expression levels of EZH2 and its target Vimentin were reduced, and PTEN was promoted after diosgenin exposure. Our results further supported that EZH2 signaling was closely associated with the anti-tumor characteristics of diosgenin in PC cells. Therefore, inhibition of EZH2 by diosgenin could be a promising therapeutic method for PC treatment.
胰腺癌(PC)是全球最具侵袭性和致命性的恶性肿瘤之一。尽管肿瘤治疗取得了重大进展,但这种难治性疾病仍然难以治疗。天然草药薯蓣皂素在临床前研究中被描述具有广泛的药理活性,包括抗癌活性。越来越多的证据表明,EZH2 作为一种致癌蛋白在多种人类癌症中过度表达,包括 PC。然而,其潜在的机制尚未完全阐明。在本研究中,我们旨在研究薯蓣皂素在 PC 细胞中的抗癌特性和分子基础。薯蓣皂素处理的 Patu8988 和 Panc-1 细胞表现出剂量和时间依赖性的细胞增殖显著抑制。薯蓣皂素处理还诱导了 PC 细胞的凋亡性细胞死亡和 G2/M 期阻滞。此外,在薯蓣皂素处理的 PC 细胞中检测到明显的细胞迁移和侵袭能力抑制。在机制上,薯蓣皂素暴露后 EZH2 及其靶标波形蛋白的表达水平降低,PTEN 被促进。我们的结果进一步支持 EZH2 信号通路与薯蓣皂素在 PC 细胞中的抗肿瘤特性密切相关。因此,抑制 EZH2 可能是治疗 PC 的一种有前途的治疗方法。