Suppression of growth of A549 lung cancer cells by waltonitone and its             mechanisms of action.
Natural compounds are a great source of cancer chemotherapeutic agents.             Our investigation indicates that waltonitone, a triterpene extracted from medicinal             plants, inhibits the proliferation of A549 cells in a concentration- and time-dependent             manner. Waltonitone induced apoptosis of A549 cells in a concentration-dependent             manner, as determined by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. The apoptosis             was accompanied by increased Bax protein levels and decreased Bcl-2 protein levels             in A549 cells. Furthermore, the treatment of A549 cells with waltonitone altered             the expression of miRNAs. We found that 27 miRNAs were differentially expressed             in waltonitone-treated cells, of which 8 miRNAs target genes related to cell proliferation             and apoptosis. In summary, our results demonstrate that waltonitone has a significant             inhibitory effect on the proliferation of A549 cells. It is possible that upregulation             of Bax/Bcl-2 and regulation of expression of specific miRNAs play a role in inhibition             of proliferation and induction of apoptosis in waltonitone-treated cells. Waltonitone             can be applied to lung carcinoma as a chemotherapeutic candidate.
Department of Geriatrics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110004, PR China.
Yi
Y
Zhang
Guo-Bin
GB
Zhang
Xiao-Man
XM
Xu
Meng
M
Zhang
Dan
D
Qu
Hui-Yan
HY
Niu
Xue
X
Bai
Liang
L
Kan
Ping
P
He
D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D030012:Gentiana / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D014315:Triterpenes / Q000494:pharmacology*
C576118:28-hydroxy-3-oxo-12-ursene; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D035683:MicroRNAs; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D014315:Triterpenes