Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O Box 80203, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2020 May 24;20(1):153. doi: 10.1186/s12906-020-02947-y.
The anti-cancer effect of the halophyte Arthrocnemum indicum, a member of Arthrocnemum family of salt-tolerant plants, was evaluated against colorectal cancer cell, CaCo2. However, the anti-cancer effect of another halophyte Arthrocnemum machrostachyum was not investigated yet. Herein, the anticancer effect of A. machrostachyum methanolic extract (AME) was evaluated against Ehrlich solid tumor (EST) in mice and the potential mechanism of action was also studied.
Male Swiss albino mice (n = 28) were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 7/group). Group 1 (negative control group); group 2 (EST) injected intramuscularly by 0.2 mL Ehrlich ascitic carcinoma (2 × 10 cells); and groups 3 and 4 injected intratumorally with AME (180 and 360 mg/kg body weight, respectively) at D12 trice weekly for 2 weeks. Gene expression, protein expression, DNA damage, and TNFa level in tumors were determined by real-time PCR, western blot, comet assay, and Elisa, respectively.
Treatment with AME induced anti-tumor effects against EST as indicated by 1) notable reduction in tumor size; 2) elevation in tissue necrosis and apoptosis, as confirmed histologically; 3) increased DNA fragmentation; 4) decreased expression of the apoptotic genes (p53, Bax and caspase 3), and increased expression of the anti-apoptotic marker Bcl2; 5) significantly upregulated cell cycle regulatory genes Cdc2 and connexin26, and; 6) decreased TNFa levels in tumor tissues. Interestingly, a high dose of AME exhibited a more potent anti-tumor effect against EST.
These findings indicate that AME has a potent antitumor effect against EST and could be used as an adjuvant to anticancer drugs to combat tumor, but after application of further confirmatory clinical trials.
盐生植物节旋花属的抗癌作用 Arthrocnemum indicum 已被评估可用于治疗结直肠癌细胞 CaCo2。然而，另一种盐生植物节旋花属 Arthrocnemum machrostachyum 的抗癌作用尚未被研究。在此，评估了节旋花属 Arthrocnemum machrostachyum 甲醇提取物（AME）对艾氏腹水瘤（EST）的抗癌作用，并研究了其潜在的作用机制。
雄性瑞士白化病小鼠（n=28）随机分为 4 组（n=7/组）。第 1 组（阴性对照组）；第 2 组（EST）肌肉内注射 0.2mL 艾氏腹水癌细胞（2×10 个细胞）；第 3 组和第 4 组分别以 180 和 360mg/kg 体重的 AME 肿瘤内注射，每周 3 次，共 2 周。通过实时 PCR、western blot、彗星试验和 Elisa 分别测定肿瘤中的基因表达、蛋白表达、DNA 损伤和 TNFa 水平。
AME 治疗可诱导 EST 的抗肿瘤作用，表现为 1）肿瘤体积明显缩小；2）组织坏死和凋亡增加，组织学证实；3）DNA 片段化增加；4）凋亡基因（p53、Bax 和 caspase 3）表达降低，抗凋亡标志物 Bcl2 表达增加；5）细胞周期调节基因 Cdc2 和连接蛋白 26 的表达显著上调；6）肿瘤组织中 TNFa 水平降低。有趣的是，高剂量 AME 对 EST 显示出更强的抗肿瘤作用。
这些发现表明 AME 对 EST 具有强大的抗肿瘤作用，可作为抗癌药物的辅助剂来对抗肿瘤，但需要进一步进行确证性临床试验。
