title: Feasibility evaluation of emodin (rhubarb extract) as an inhibitor of pancreatic cancer cell proliferation in vitro.
abstract: Emodin is a commonly used traditional herbal treatment in China, including use for pancreatic malignancy. In this study, the potential for emodin to inhibit pancreatic cancer cell proliferation was examined using 4 human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines: Mia Paca-2, BxPC-3, Panc-1, and L3.6pl. WST-1 proliferation, propidium iodide flow cytometry cell cycle analysis, and poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) Western blot analysis were performed. Forty-eight-hour treatment with 50 muM emodin inhibited proliferation in Mia Paca-2 cells by 42%, BxPc-3 by 38%, L3.6pl by 56%, and Panc-1 by 18% (all P < .01). In three-fourths of the cell lines, emodin treatment resulted in an increase (from 4.7% to 22%) in the cell population number in apoptosis when measured by flow cytometric analysis. Mia Paca-2 revealed a significant PARP cleavage product when compared with control. These feasibility experiments provide initial evidence that emodin exerts an antiproliferative effect, likely through apoptosis induction-related mechanism(s), that is reproducible in various human pancreatic cancer cell lines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The University of Illinois at Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Razzak
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hering
authors.forename: Abdul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saed
authors.forename: Tricia A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Babcock
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Helton
authors.forename: N Joseph
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Espat
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004642:Emodin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D010179:Pancreas / Q000166:cytology*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012250:Rheum / Q000737:chemistry; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D004642:Emodin