Pterostilbene suppresses head and neck cancer cell proliferation via induction of apoptosis.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Head and neck cancer (HNC) is one of the most prevalent causes of death worldwide, and so discovering anticancer agents for its treatment is very important. Pterostilbene (PS) is a trans-stilbene reported to be beneficial in managing various cancers. The objective of the study was to evaluate the cytotoxic, antiproliferative, proapoptotic, and antimigrative effect of PS on HEp-2, SCC-90, SCC-9, FaDu, and Detroit-551 cell lines.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

MTT and live/dead assays were employed to assess cell viability, while a cell migration test was performed to evaluate wound healing capacity. The mRNA, protein, and intracellular expression levels of , , and genes were evaluated by real-time PCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescence staining. Annexin V-PI staining was conducted to assess the amounts of viable, apoptotic, and necrotic cells.

RESULTS

The results revealed that PS displayed cytotoxic, antiproliferative activity in a dose-dependent manner in HNC cells by upregulating and while downregulating in the apoptotic pathway. The proapoptotic properties were confirmed by the annexin-V-IP results. Moreover, PS displayed a significant suppressive efficacy on the migration capacity of HNC cells.

CONCLUSION

The present study provides proof that PS has the prospective to be improved as an attractive anticancer agent against HNC following advanced studies.