title: A polar extract of the Maya healing plant Anthurium schlechtendalii (Aracea) exhibits strong in vitro anticancer activity.
abstract: The Aracea Anthurium schlechtendalii and Syngonium podophyllum are traditional remedies for the treatment of severe and chronic inflammatory conditions. We cross-examined these plants regarding their anti-neoplastic properties, because several anti-inflammatory molecular targets are common for both pathologic conditions due to similar signalling pathways. Two malignant cell lines, HL-60 and MCF-7, were treated with increasing concentrations of plant extracts of increasing polarity. The potential of the extracts to inhibit the cell cycle and to induce cell death was investigated, because these are relevant endpoints to assess the anti-cancer potential in vitro and the protein expression and cell cycle distribution upon exposure to the strongest extract was analysed. Extracts from S. podophyllum were rather ineffective, but the freeze-dried (but not air-dried) roots of A. schlechtendalii exhibited strong growth inhibitory and apoptosis-inducing properties. In HL-60 cells 50% proliferation inhibition was achieved by 1.7 microg dichloromethane extract/ml medium and correlated with the activation of Chk2, down-regulation of Cdc25A, suppression of cyclin D1 level, and transient induction of p21. This extract efficiently triggered apoptosis, which was confirmed by caspase 3 activation. The polymerisation of alpha-tubulin and its subsequent degradation that depleted the cells from the G2/M contributed to apoptosis induction, because proper spindle-formation during mitosis is mandatory for survival. In conclusion, we demonstrated that A. schlechtendalii root extract specifically targeted carcinogenic mechanisms, because Cdc25A and cyclin D1 are oncogenes that are frequently overexpressed in a variety of cancer entities and further, this extract affected microtubule function reminiscent of taxol.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gridling
authors.forename: Sibylle
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Madlener
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lackner
authors.forename: Ruxandra
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Popescu
authors.forename: Rene
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: Foster M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Tut
authors.forename: Thanh-Phuong Nha
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Vo
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vonach
authors.forename: Benedikt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Giessrigl
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saiko
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grusch
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fritzer-Szekeres
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Szekeres
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kopp
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Frisch
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Krupitza
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis; D029064:Araceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D064447:Checkpoint Kinase 2; D019938:Cyclin D1 / Q000378:metabolism; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D018922:HL-60 Cells; D006801:Humans; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D020687:cdc25 Phosphatases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D010936:Plant Extracts; D019938:Cyclin D1; D064447:Checkpoint Kinase 2; C578634:CHEK2 protein, human; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D020687:cdc25 Phosphatases