6-Shogaol has been shown to possess many antitumor properties including inhibition of cancer cell growth, inhibition of cancer metastasis, induction of apoptosis in cancer cells and induction of cancer cell differentiation. Despite its prominent antitumor effects, the direct molecular target of 6-shogaol has remained elusive. To identify the direct targets of 6-shogaol, a comprehensive antitumor profile of 6-shogaol (NSC752389) was tested in the NCI-60 cell line in an in vitro screen. The results show that 6-shogaol is COMPARE negative suggesting that it functions via a mechanism of action distinct from existing classes of therapeutic agents. Further analysis using microarray gene profiling and Connectivity Map analysis showed that MCF-7 cells treated with 6-shogaol display gene expression signatures characteristic of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ) agonists, suggesting that 6-shogaol may activate the PPARγ signaling pathway for its antitumor effects. Indeed, treatment of MCF-7 and HT29 cells with 6-shogaol induced PPARγ transcriptional activity, suppressed NFκB activity, and induced apoptosis in breast and colon cancer cells in a PPARγ-dependent manner. Furthermore, 6-shogaol is capable of binding to PPARγ with a binding affinity comparable to 15-delta prostaglandin J2, a natural ligand for PPARγ. Together, our findings suggest that the antitumor effects of 6-shogaol are mediated through activation of PPARγ and imply that activation of PPARγ might be beneficial for breast and colon cancer treatment.
The hydroquinone and catechol like metabolites, NCQ344 and NCQ436 respectively, of the antipsychotic remoxipride have recently been demonstrated to induce apoptosis in myeloperoxidase (MPO)-rich human bone marrow progenitor and HL-60 cells [S.M. McGuinness, R. Johansson, J. Lundstrom, D. Ross, Induction of apoptosis by remoxipride metabolites in HL-60 and CD34+/CD19- human bone marrow progenitor cells: potential relevance to remoxipride-induced aplastic anemia, Chem. Biol. Interact. 121 (1999) 253-265]. In the present study, we determined the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis induced by these remoxipride metabolites in HL-60 cells. Our results show that apoptosis was accompanied by phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure, activation of caspases-9, -3, -7 and DNA cleavage. In HL-60 cells treated with the hydroquinone NCQ344 and catechol NCQ436, the general caspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp. fluoromethyl ketone (Z-VAD.FMK) blocked DNA cleavage and activation of caspases-9, -3/-7. In addition, PS exposure was significantly but not completely inhibited by Z-VAD.FMK. These results demonstrate that although Z-VAD.FMK inhibitable caspases are necessary for maximal apoptosis induced by NCQ344 and NCQ436, additional caspase-independent processes may orchestrate changes leading to PS exposure during apoptosis induced by the remoxipride polyphenolic metabolites.
Jatropha meal produced from the kernel of Jatropha curcas Linn. grown in Malaysia contains phorbol esters (PEs). The potential benefits of PEs present in the meal as anticancer agent are still not well understood. Hence, this study was conducted to evaluate the cytotoxic effects and mode of actions of PEs isolated from Jatropha meal against breast (MCF-7) and cervical (HeLa) cancer cell lines. Isolated PEs inhibited cells proliferation in a dose-dependent manner of both MCF-7 and HeLa cell lines with the IC₅₀ of 128.6 ± 2.51 and 133.0 ± 1.96 µg PMA equivalents/mL respectively, while the values for the phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) as positive control were 114.7 ± 1.73 and 119.6 ± 3.73 µg/mL, respectively. Microscopic examination showed significant morphological changes that resemble apoptosis in both cell lines when treated with PEs and PMA at IC₅₀ concentration after 24 h. Flow cytometry analysis and DNA fragmentation results confirmed the apoptosis induction of PEs and PMA in both cell lines. The PEs isolated from Jatropha meal activated the PKC-δ and down-regulated the proto-oncogenes (c-Myc, c-Fos and c-Jun). These changes probably led to the activation of Caspase-3 protein and apoptosis cell death occurred in MCF-7 and HeLa cell lines upon 24 h treatment with PEs and PMA. Phorbol esters of Jatropha meal were found to be promising as an alternative to replace the chemotherapeutic drugs for cancer therapy.
The effect of foliar application of salicylic acid (SA) at different concentrations (10-3 M and 10-5 M) was investigated on the production of secondary metabolites (flavonoids), chalcone synthase (CHS) activity, antioxidant activity and anticancer activity (against breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) in two varieties of Malaysian ginger, namely Halia Bentong and Halia Bara. The results of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis showed that application of SA induced the synthesis of anthocyanin and fisetin in both varieties. Anthocyanin and fisetin were not detected in the control plants. Accordingly, the concentrations of some flavonoids (rutin and apigenin) decreased significantly in plants treated with different concentrations of SA. The present study showed that SA enhanced the chalcone synthase (CHS) enzyme activity (involving flavonoid synthesis) and recorded the highest activity value of 5.77 nkat /mg protein in Halia Bara with the 10-5 M SA treatment. As the SA concentration was decreased from 10-3 M to 10-5 M, the free radical scavenging power (FRAP) increased about 23% in Halia Bentong and 10.6% in Halia Bara. At a concentration of 350 μg mL-1, the DPPH antioxidant activity recorded the highest value of 58.30%-72.90% with the 10-5 M SA treatment followed by the 10-3 M SA (52.14%-63.66%) treatment. The lowest value was recorded in the untreated control plants (42.5%-46.7%). These results indicate that SA can act not only as an inducer but also as an inhibitor of secondary metabolites. Meanwhile, the highest anticancer activity against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines was observed for H. Bara extracts treated with 10-5 M SA with values of 61.53 and 59.88%, respectively. The results suggest that the high anticancer activity in these varieties may be related to the high concentration of potent anticancer components including fisetin and anthocyanin. The results thus indicate that the synthesis of flavonoids in ginger can be increased by foliar application of SA in a controlled environment and that the anticancer activity in young ginger extracts could be improved.