Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510630, China.
State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Drug ability Assessment; MOE Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Biology; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China.
Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2024 Aug;45(8):1715-1726. doi: 10.1038/s41401-024-01258-z. Epub 2024 Apr 29.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent form of gastrointestinal malignancy with challenges in chemotherapy resistance and side effects. Effective and low toxic drugs for CRC treatment are urgently needed. Ferroptosis is a novel mode of cell death, which has garnered attention for its therapeutic potential against cancer. Baicalein (5, 6, 7-trihydroxyflavone) is the primary flavone extracted from the dried roots of Scutellaria baicalensis that exhibits anticancer effects against several malignancies including CRC. In this study, we investigated whether baicalein induced ferroptosis in CRC cells. We showed that baicalein (1-64 μM) dose-dependently inhibited the viability of human CRC lines HCT116 and DLD1. Co-treatment with the ferroptosis inhibitor liproxstatin-1 (1 μM) significantly mitigated baicalein-induced CRC cell death, whereas autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (25 μM), necroptosis inhibitor necrostatin-1 (10 μM), or pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK (10 μM) did not rescue baicalein-induced CRC cell death. RNA-seq analysis confirmed that the inhibitory effect of baicalein on CRC cells is associated with ferroptosis induction. We revealed that baicalein (7.5-30 μM) dose-dependently decreased the expression levels of GPX4, key regulator of ferroptosis, in HCT116 and DLD1 cells by blocking janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/STAT3 signaling pathway via direct interaction with JAK2, ultimately leading to ferroptosis in CRC cells. In a CRC xenograft mouse model, administration of baicalein (10, 20 mg/kg, i.g., every two days for two weeks) dose-dependently inhibited the tumor growth with significant ferroptosis induced by inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3/GPX4 axis in tumor tissue. This study demonstrates that ferroptosis contributes to baicalein-induced anti-CRC activity through blockade of the JAK2/STAT3/GPX4 signaling pathway, which provides evidence for the therapeutic application of baicalein against CRC.
结直肠癌(CRC)是一种常见的胃肠道恶性肿瘤,存在化疗耐药和副作用等挑战。因此,急需有效且低毒的 CRC 治疗药物。铁死亡是一种新型的细胞死亡方式,因其在抗癌方面的治疗潜力而受到关注。黄芩素(5,6,7-三羟基黄酮)是从黄芩的干燥根中提取的主要黄酮类化合物,对包括 CRC 在内的多种恶性肿瘤具有抗癌作用。在本研究中,我们研究了黄芩素是否诱导 CRC 细胞发生铁死亡。结果显示,黄芩素(1-64μM)呈剂量依赖性抑制人 CRC 细胞系 HCT116 和 DLD1 的活力。用铁死亡抑制剂 liproxstatin-1(1μM)共同处理可显著减轻黄芩素诱导的 CRC 细胞死亡,而自噬抑制剂氯喹(25μM)、坏死性凋亡抑制剂 necrostatin-1(10μM)或全胱天冬酶抑制剂 Z-VAD-FMK(10μM)不能挽救黄芩素诱导的 CRC 细胞死亡。RNA-seq 分析证实,黄芩素对 CRC 细胞的抑制作用与诱导铁死亡有关。我们发现,黄芩素(7.5-30μM)通过与 JAK2 直接相互作用阻断 Janus 激酶 2(JAK2)/信号转导和转录激活因子 3(STAT3)信号通路,剂量依赖性地下调 CRC 细胞中关键铁死亡调节因子谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶 4(GPX4)的表达水平,最终导致 CRC 细胞发生铁死亡。在 CRC 异种移植小鼠模型中,黄芩素(10、20mg/kg,ig,每两天一次,连续两周)给药可剂量依赖性地抑制肿瘤生长,并通过抑制肿瘤组织中 JAK2/STAT3/GPX4 轴显著诱导铁死亡。本研究表明,铁死亡通过阻断 JAK2/STAT3/GPX4 信号通路参与黄芩素诱导的抗 CRC 活性,为黄芩素治疗 CRC 提供了证据。