Inhibitory Effect of CAPE and Kaempferol in Colon Cancer Cell Lines—Possible Implications in New Therapeutic Strategies

Abstract

Background: Phytochemicals are natural compounds synthesized as secondary metabolites in plants and represent an important source of molecules with therapeutic applications. Attention is accorded to their potential in anti-cancer therapies as single agents or adjuvant treatment. Herby, we evaluated the in vitro effects of a panel of natural compounds with focus on caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) and Kaempferol for the treatment of human colon cancer. Methods: We exposed two human colon cancer cell lines, RKO and HCT-116, followed by functional examination of cell viability, cell proliferation and invasion, cell cycle, apoptosis, and autophagy. Modifications in gene expression were investigated through microarray and detection of existing mutations and finding of new ones was done with the help of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). Results: Both CAPE and Kaempferol inhibit cell proliferation, motility and invasion, and stimulate apoptosis and autophagy, concomitant with modifications in coding and noncoding genes’ expression. Moreover, there are pathogenic mutations that are no longer found upon treatment with CAPE and Kaempferol. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that CAPE and Kaempferol have the ability to negatively influence the development and advancement of colon cancer in vitro by specifically altering the cells at the molecular level; this activity can be exploited in possible adjuvant therapies once the optimal dose concentration with minimal side effects but with cancer inhibitory activity is set in vivo.

The Synergistic Antitumor Effect of 5-Fluorouracil Combined with Allicin against Lung and Colorectal Carcinoma Cells

“…In order to evaluate the level of toxicity that was induced by the combined therapy and the morphological changes that were induced by the treatments, we used the triple staining protocol that was developed in our facility [23]. The mitochondrial networks were stained with Mitotracker-Red, the actin filaments were stained with Phalloidin-FITC, and the nucleus was stained with DAPI.…”

“…After 24 h of exposure to the half of the IC 50 and combined IC 50 treatments, the morphological changes induced by the treatments were assessed using the triple staining protocol previously published by our research team [23]. The cells were incubated on a chamberslide for 24 h with the treatment added.…”

“…In order to detect the apoptosis and necrosis ratio after 24 h treatment, the cells were washed with cold PBS and the pellet was resuspended in 100 µL of Annexin V Binding buffer. After a gentile mixing step, 5 µL of Annexin V and 5 µL of propidium iodide were added and each sample was incubated for 15 min in the dark at room temperature [23]. All the reagents were purchased from Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MS, USA.…”

Polyphenol-Mediated Autophagy in Cancer: Evidence of In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

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Dietary natural flavonoids treating cancer by targeting aryl hydrocarbon receptor

“…In addition, these anticancer effects may be partly due to the antioxidant properties of the flavonoids, and recent studies suggest that interactions with essential signal transduction pathways may be more important (Alaklabi et al 2018;Ojelabi et al 2018). As well, flavonoids may also interact with chemotherapeutic drugs used in cancer treatment through the induction or inhibition of their metabolism (Budisan et al 2019).…”