title: Furanodiene induces endoplasmic reticulum stress and presents antiproliferative activities in lung cancer cells.
abstract: Furanodiene (FUR) is a natural terpenoid isolated from Curcumae Rhizoma, a well-known Chinese medicinal herb that presents antiproliferation activities in several cancer cell lines. In this study, we demonstrated that FUR concentration dependently inhibits the cell proliferation of A549, NIH-H1299, and 95-D lung cancer cells. β-elemene, another terpenoid isolated from Curcumae Rhizoma, exhibited weaker antiproliferative effects in A549 and NIH-H1299 cells and activities similar to FUR in 95-D cells. FUR significantly inhibited colony formation in A549 and 95-D cells and upregulated both the mRNA and protein expression levels of binding immunoglobulin protein (BIP) and C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), indicating that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is induced. FUR treatment led to the accumulation of CHOP in the nucleus, which further confirms induction of ER stress. Furthermore, combined treatment of FUR with paclitaxel showed significant synergetic activities in NIH-H1299 and 95-D cells, suggesting its potential roles in combination therapy. These findings provide a basis for the further study of the anticancer effects in vivo and the internal mechanisms of FUR.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine and Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Avenue Padre Toma's Pereira S.J., Taipa, Macau 999078, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Shan
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yuan-Ye
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.forename: Jia-Jie
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Guo-Sheng
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jin-Jian
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Xiu-Ping
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yi-Tao
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Wang