Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Aging (Albany NY). 2023 Apr 21;15(8):3107-3119. doi: 10.18632/aging.204673.
Urinary bladder urothelial carcinoma (UBUC) encompasses about 90% of all bladder cancer cases, and the mainstream treatment is the transurethral resection of the bladder tumor followed by intravesical instillation. High rates of mortality, recurrence, and progression in bladder cancer have stimulated the search for alternative adjuvant therapies. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of melatonin as adjuvant therapy in bladder cancer. Cell viability and clonogenic ability were assessed by an MTT assay and colony formation. Cell cycle and apoptosis analysis were performed by flow cytometry and Hoechst 33342 staining, while cell metastasis capacity was measured by wound healing and transwell assays. Potential mechanisms were investigated by an oncology array and verified via western blotting. The melatonin treatment significantly reduced T24 and UMUC3 bladder cancer cell proliferation and clonogenic ability. G1 arrest and sub-G1 accumulation in the T24 and UMUC3 cells led to cell proliferation suppression and cell death, and Hoechst 33342 staining further verified the apoptosis induction directly by melatonin. Moreover, melatonin weakened cell motility and invasiveness. Based on the oncology array results, we demonstrated that melatonin exerts its anti-cancer effect by down-regulating the HIF-1α and NF-κB pathways and downstream pathways, including Bcl-2, leading to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction in the UBUC cells. Overall, these findings support the potential of melatonin as adjuvant therapy in bladder cancer.
膀胱癌尿路上皮癌(UBUC)约占所有膀胱癌病例的 90%,主流治疗方法是经尿道膀胱肿瘤切除术,随后进行膀胱内灌注。膀胱癌死亡率、复发率和进展率高,这刺激了对替代辅助治疗方法的探索。本研究旨在探讨褪黑素作为膀胱癌辅助治疗的潜力。通过 MTT 测定和集落形成测定评估细胞活力和克隆形成能力。通过流式细胞术和 Hoechst 33342 染色进行细胞周期和凋亡分析,通过划痕愈合和 Transwell 测定测量细胞转移能力。通过肿瘤学阵列研究潜在机制,并通过 Western blot 进行验证。褪黑素处理显著降低了 T24 和 UMUC3 膀胱癌细胞的增殖和克隆形成能力。T24 和 UMUC3 细胞中的 G1 期阻滞和亚 G1 期积累导致细胞增殖抑制和细胞死亡,Hoechst 33342 染色进一步直接验证了褪黑素诱导的细胞凋亡。此外,褪黑素减弱了细胞迁移和侵袭能力。基于肿瘤学阵列的结果,我们证明褪黑素通过下调 HIF-1α 和 NF-κB 途径及其下游途径,包括 Bcl-2,从而在 UBUC 细胞中诱导细胞周期阻滞和凋亡,发挥其抗癌作用。总的来说,这些发现支持褪黑素作为膀胱癌辅助治疗的潜力。