title: Growth suppression of human transformed cells by treatment with bark extracts from a medicinal plant, Terminalia arjuna.
abstract: We have investigated the effects of acetone and methanol extracts of a medicinal plant, Terminalia arjuna, on the growth of human normal fibroblasts (WI-38), osteosarcoma (U2OS), and glioblastoma (U251) cells in vitro. We found that both extracts at 30 microg and 60 microg/ml concentrations inhibit the growth of transformed cells; the growth of normal cells was least affected. Although the transformed cells appeared to have fragmented nucleus by Hoechst staining, no deoxy-ribonucleic acid laddering effect was observed. In response to the extract treatment, the tumor suppressor protein, p53, was induced in U2OS but not in U251 and WI-38 cells. A cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p21WAF1, was induced in transformed cells only. The study suggests that the bark extract of medicinal plant, T. arjuna, has components that can induce growth arrest of transformed cells by p53-dependent and -independent pathways.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Bioscience and Human Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nagpal
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Meena
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: I S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Grover
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wadhwa
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Kaul
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D050759:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; D016213:Cyclins / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006131:Growth Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D010936:Plant Extracts; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D019685:Rosales / Q000737:chemistry*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C493956:CDKN1A protein, human; D050759:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; D016213:Cyclins; D006131:Growth Inhibitors; D010936:Plant Extracts; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53