Canthin-6-one displays antiproliferative activity and causes accumulation of cancer cells in the G2/M phase.
Canthinones are natural substances with a wide range of biological activities, including antipyretic, antiparasitic, and antimicrobial. Antiproliferative and/or cytotoxic effects of canthinones on cancer cells have also been described, although their mechanism of action remains ill defined. To gain better insight into this mechanism, the antiproliferative effect of a commercially available canthin-6-one (1) was examined dose-dependently on six cancer cell lines (human prostate, PC-3; human colon, HT-29; human lymphocyte, Jurkat; human cervix, HeLa; rat glioma, C6; and mouse embryonic fibroblasts, NIH-3T3). Cytotoxic effects of 1 were investigated on the same cancer cell lines by procaspase-3 cleavage and on normal human skin fibroblasts. Strong antiproliferative effects of the compound were observed in all cell lines, whereas cytotoxic effects were very dependent on cell type. A better definition of the mechanism of action of 1 was obtained on PC-3 cells, by showing that it decreases BrdU incorporation into DNA by 60% to 80% and mitotic spindle formation by 70% and that it causes a 2-fold accumulation of cells in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. Together, the data suggest that the primary effect of canthin-6-one (1) is antiproliferative, possibly by interfering with the G2/M transition. Proapoptotic effects might result from this disturbance of the cell cycle.
Signalisation & Transports Ioniques Membranaires, CNRS ERL 7368, University of Poitiers , Poitiers, France.
Camille
C
Dejos
Pierre
P
Voisin
Marianne
M
Bernard
Matthieu
M
Régnacq
Thierry
T
Bergès
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002243:Carbolines / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D016195:G2 Phase / Q000187:drug effects; D019073:HT29 Cells; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D026121:Indole Alkaloids / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms; D051381:Rats
D002243:Carbolines; D026121:Indole Alkaloids; C453379:canthin-6-one; D004247:DNA