Plumbagin induces the apoptosis of human tongue carcinoma cells through the mitochondria-mediated pathway

Abstract

BackgroundPlumbagin, a quinonoid constituent isolated from the root of Plumbago zeylanica L., has been proven to possess anti-tumor activity both in vitro and in vivo. However, its anti-tumor properties for human tongue carcinoma have not been reported. This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect and the underlying mechanism of plumbagin on the growth of human tongue carcinoma cells.Material/MethodsCell proliferation ability was detected by EdU incorporation assay and colony formation assay. Cell-cycle distribution was determined by flow cytometric analysis using propidium iodide (PI) staining. Cellular apoptosis was then evaluated by flow cytometry and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Western blotting was applied to assay the expression of Bax and Bcl-2.ResultsPlumbagin inhibited the growth and proliferation of Tca8113 cells in vitro in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The cell cycles of plumbagin-treated Tca8113 cells were arrested at the G2/M phase. Cells treated with plumbagin presented the characteristic morphological changes of apoptosis. The ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 was raised by plumbagin in a concentration-dependent manner.ConclusionsThese results indicate that plumbagin induces the apoptosis of Tca8113 cells through mitochondria-mediated pathway.

Medicinal plants in the treatment ofHelicobacter pyloriinfections

“…Antimicrobial (Jetty et al, 2010) and anti-cancer activities (Qiu et al, 2013) of this plant are presented recently. In a study that extracts from 50 Taiwanese folk medicinal plants were screened for anti-H. pylori activity, P. zeylanica ethanol extract demonstrated strong anti-H. pylori effects (Wang & Huang, 2005c).…”

Plumbagin suppresses tumor cell growth in oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines

“…Ahmad et al () reported that PL significantly suppressed the growth of estrogen receptor (ER)‐positive MCF‐7 cells and ER‐negative MDA‐MB‐231 cells, with no effect on normal mammary epithelial MCF‐10A cells. Several studies showed that PL‐induced apoptosis through mitochondria‐mediated pathway in human cervical cancer cell lines (Nair et al , ), promyelocytic leukemia cells (Xu and Lu, ), and tongue carcinoma cells (Qiu et al , ). Hafeez et al () recently reported that PL inhibits the growth and metastasis of human prostate cancer PC‐3M cells using an orthotopic xenograft mouse model.…”

Plumbagin reduces chronic lymphocytic leukemia cell survival by downregulation of Bcl-2 but upregulation of the Bax protein level

“…Plumbagin, a potential anticancer agent, has been reported to regulate cell proliferation and apoptosis in the development of cancer (21,22). As reported, plumbagin induced colon cancer cell death via a Bak-dependent pathway (23), and promoted tongue squamous cell carcinoma cell arrest at the G2/M phase and apoptosis via p38 MAPk-and PI3k/Akt/mTOR-mediated pathways (24).…”