Oxidative stress and apoptosis induction in human thyroid carcinoma cells exposed to the essential oil from Pistacia lentiscus aerial parts

Abstract

BackgroundEssential oils from the aerial parts (leaves, twigs and berries) of Pistacia lentiscus (PLEO) have been well characterized for their antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties; however, poor information exists on their potential anticancer activity.MethodsIncreasing concentrations of PLEO (0.01–0.1% v/v, 80–800 μg/ml) were administered to a wide variety of cultured cancer cells from breast, cervix, colon, liver, lung, prostate, and thyroid carcinomas. Fibroblasts were also included as healthy control cells. Cell viability was monitored by WST-8 assay up to 72 hours after PLEO administration. The intracellular formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the induction of apoptosis, and the enhancement of chemotherapeutic drug cytotoxicity by PLEO were further investigated in the most responsive cancer cell line.ResultsA dose-dependent reduction of tumor cell viability was observed upon PLEO exposure; while no cytotoxic effect was revealed in healthy fibroblasts. FTC-133 thyroid cancer cells were found to be the most sensitive cells to PLEO treatment; accordingly, an intracellular accumulation of ROS and an activation of both the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways were evidenced in FTC-133 cells after PLEO administration. Furthermore, the cytotoxic effect of the antineoplastic drugs cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil and etoposide was enhanced in PLEO-exposed FTC-133 cells.ConclusionTaking into account its mode of action, PLEO might be considered as a promising source of natural antitumor agents which might have therapeutic potential in integrated oncology.

Metformin Targets Mitochondrial Glycerophosphate Dehydrogenase to Control Rate of Oxidative Phosphorylation and Growth of Thyroid Cancer In Vitro and In Vivo

“…Of note, mGPDH-rich FTC133 cells are characterized by a significantly higher proliferation rate (doubling time 27h) compared to BCPAP cells (doubling time 30-36h) (13,20). …”

Comprehensive Analysis of the Chemical Composition and In Vitro Cytotoxic Mechanisms of Pallines Spinosa Flower and Leaf Essential Oils Against Breast Cancer Cells

“…Several reports have shown that the anti-proliferative activities of different essential oils towards various cancer cells are mediated by apoptosis [30-32]. To determine whether the cytotoxic effects of F-PSEO and L-PSEO are associated with induction of apoptosis, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells were treated with increasing concentrations of either oil and then analyzed by flow cytometry after staining with FITC-an-nexin-V/7-AAD.…”

Evaluation of Biological Activity of Mastic Extracts Based on Chemotherapeutic Indices

“…However, antitumor activity of all mastic extracts is much lower than that of anticancer drugs (TS=4-2,961) (25). It has recently been reported that the cytotoxic effect of antineoplastic drugs (cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil and etoposide) against FTC-133 thyroid cancer cells was enhanced by essential oils from the aerial parts (leaves, twigs and berries) of Pistacia lentiscus (1). It, thus, remains to be investigated whether ethyl acetate extract of mastic and antitumor agents show such synergistic effect in the tumor cells.…”

“…Due to its unique shape and diverse efficacy, mastic has been called "the tear drop of Christ". Mastic extracts have been reported to show antitumor activity (including the enhancement of anticancer drugs' action and induction of apoptosis via oxidative stress) (1,2), antioxidant activity (that correlated with phenolic and flavonoid contents) (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8), antibacterial activity (9)(10)(11), modulating activity of drug-metabolizing enzymes (12,13) and antiviral activity (14)(15)(16)(17). However, most previous investigators did not describe the chemotherapeutic index of these activities (that is the ratio of the biological activity to cytoxicity), even though there is a cautionary note that mastic extracts showed potent cytotoxicity (18).…”