Inhibitory effects of Actinidia Chinensis planch root extracts (acRoots) on human lung cancer cells through retinoic acid receptor beta

Abstract

Actinidia Chinensis Planch roots (acRoots) are used to treat many cancers, although the antitumor mechanism by which acRoots inhibit cancer cell growth remains unclear. The present study aims at investigating inhibitory effects of acRoots on human lung cancer cells and potential mechanisms. Our data demonstrate that the inhibitory effects of acRoots on lung cancer cells depend on genetic backgrounds and phenotypes of cells. We furthermore found the expression of metabolism-associated gene profiles varied between acRoots-hypersensitive (H460) or hyposensitive lung cancer cells (H1299) after screening lung cancer cells with different genetic backgrounds. We selected retinoic acid receptor beta (RARB) as the core target within metabolism-associated core gene networks and evaluated RARB changes and roles in cells treated with acRoots at different concentrations and timeframes. Hypersensitive cancer cells with the deletion of RARB expression did not response to the treatment with acRoots, while RARB deletion did not change effects of acRoots on hyposensitive cells. Thus, it seems that RARB as the core target within metabolism-associated networks plays important roles in the regulation of lung cancer cell sensitivity to acRoots.