Division of Periodontics, Department of Dentistry, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
School of Dentistry, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Anticancer Res. 2024 Mar;44(3):1173-1182. doi: 10.21873/anticanres.16912.
BACKGROUND/AIM: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), a major malignancy in Taiwan, is an invasive epithelial neoplasm resulting in a low survival rate. Current treatments do not prevent OSCC progression, and antitumor therapies should be improved. Plumbagin, a natural compound extracted from Plumbago zeylanica L., appears to have antitumor effects in various tumors. The antitumor mechanism of plumbagin in OSCC is still unclear. This study investigated the molecular mechanism through which plumbagin induces apoptosis.
To investigate the antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of Plumbagin on OSCC cells and explore its underlying mechanism, cell counting kit-8, cell cycle analysis, and annexin V/PI assay were conducted. The functions of plumbagin on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) deficiency were analyzed using flow cytometric analysis. Plumbagin-induced apoptosis-associated proteins were detected using western blotting.
Plumbagin induced apoptosis in OSCC cells by suppressing tumor cell proliferation through ROS production, ER stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and caspases activation.
Plumbagin is a promising antitumor candidate targeting human OSCC.
背景/目的：口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）是台湾地区的一种主要恶性肿瘤，是一种侵袭性上皮肿瘤，导致生存率低。目前的治疗方法不能预防 OSCC 的进展，需要改进抗肿瘤治疗。从白花丹中提取的天然化合物白花丹醌在各种肿瘤中似乎具有抗肿瘤作用。白花丹醌在 OSCC 中的抗肿瘤机制尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨白花丹醌诱导细胞凋亡的分子机制。
为了研究白花丹醌对 OSCC 细胞的增殖抑制和促凋亡作用，并探讨其潜在机制，采用细胞计数试剂盒-8（cell counting kit-8，CCK-8）、细胞周期分析和 Annexin V/PI 检测法进行检测。采用流式细胞术分析研究了白花丹醌对内质网（endoplasmic reticulum，ER）应激、活性氧（reactive oxygen species，ROS）产生和线粒体膜电位（mitochondrial membrane potential，MMP）缺失的功能。采用 Western blot 检测了白花丹醌诱导的凋亡相关蛋白。
白花丹醌通过 ROS 产生、内质网应激、线粒体功能障碍和半胱天冬酶激活来抑制肿瘤细胞增殖，从而诱导 OSCC 细胞凋亡。
白花丹醌是一种有前途的针对人类 OSCC 的抗肿瘤候选药物。
