This study demonstrates that glabridin may be a novel anticancer agent for the treatment of breast cancer in three different ways: inhibition of migration, invasion and angiogenesis.

Syringetin (3,5,7,4'-tetrahydroxy-3',5'dimethoxyflavone), a flavonoid derivative, is present in grape and wine. By means of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, osteocalcin, and type I collagen ELISA, we have shown that syringetin exhibits a significant induction of differentiation in MC3T3-E1 mouse calvaria osteoblasts and human fetal osteoblastic 1.19 cell line human osteoblasts. ALP and osteocalcin are phenotypic markers for early-stage differentiated osteoblasts and terminally differentiated osteoblasts, respectively. Our results indicate that syringetin stimulates osteoblast differentiation at various stages, from maturation to terminally differentiated osteoblasts. Induction of differentiation by syringetin is associated with increased bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) production. The BMP-2 antagonist noggin blocked syringetin-mediated ALP activity and osteocalcin secretion enhancement, indicating that BMP-2 production is required in syringetin-mediated osteoblast maturation and differentiation. Induction of differentiation by syringetin is associated with increased activation of SMAD1/5/8 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2). Cotreatment of ERK1/2 inhibitor 2'-amino-3'-methoxyflavone inhibited syringetin-mediated ALP upregulation and osteocalcin production. In conclusion, syringetin increased BMP-2 synthesis, and subsequently activated SMAD1/5/8 and ERK1/2, and this effect may contribute to its action on the induction of osteoblast maturation and differentiation, followed by an increase of bone mass.

This study is the first to investigate the anticancer effect of tricetin in human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cells. Results reveal that tricetin inhibits MCF-7 cells by blocking cell cycle progression in the G2/M phase and inducing apoptosis. Cell cycle blockade is associated with increased activation of ataxia telangiectasia-mutated (ATM). Activation of ATM by tricetin phosphorylated p53 at serine 15, resulting in increased stability of p53 by decreasing p53 and murine double minute-2 (MDM2) interaction. In addition, tricetin-mediated G2/M phase arrest was also associated with decreases in the amounts of cyclin B, cyclin A, cdc2 and cdc25C, and increases in the phosphorylation of Chk2, cdc25C and cdc2. The specific ATM inhibitor caffeine significantly decreased tricetin-mediated G2/M arrest by inhibiting the phosphorylation of p53 (serine 15) and Chk2. Tricetin-induced apoptotic cell death is associated with changes in the expression of Bax and Bak, decreasing levels of Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L), and subsequently triggering the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. In addition, pretreatment of cells with caspase-9 inhibitor blocked tricetin-induced apoptosis, indicating that caspase-9 activation is involved in tricetin-mediated MCF-7 cell apoptosis. These findings suggest that tricetin may be a promising chemopreventive agent against human breast cancer.

Asperfuranone, a novel compound of genomic mining in Aspergillus nidulans, was investigated for its anti-proliferative activity in human non-small cell lung cancer A549 cells. To identity the anti-cancer mechanism of asperfuranone, we assayed its effect on apoptosis, cell cycle distribution, and levels of p53, p21 Waf1/Cip1, Fas/APO-1 receptor and Fas ligand. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed that the G0/G1 phase arrest might be due to p53-dependent induction of p21 Waf1/Cip1. An enhancement in Fas/APO-1 and its two form ligands, membrane-bound Fas ligand (mFasL) and soluble Fas ligand (sFasL), might be responsible for the apoptotic effect induced by asperfuranone. Our study reports here for the first time that the induction of p53 and the activity of Fas/Fas ligand apoptotic system may participate in the anti-proliferative activity of asperfuranone in A549 cells.