title: Icaritin suppresses multiple myeloma, by inhibiting IL-6/JAK2/STAT3.
abstract: Icaritin is an active prenylflavonoid derived from Epimedium genus, a traditional Chinese medicine. Icaritin has a wide range of pharmacological and biological activities, including cardiovascular function improvement, hormone regulation and antitumor activity. Here, we investigated the effect of icaritin on multiple myeloma (MM) in vitro and in vivo. Icaritin inhibited cell growth of MM cell line and primary MM cells. In contrast, icaritin had low or no cytotoxic effect on normal hematopoiesis. We also demonstrated that in MM xenograft mouse models, icaritin suppressed tumor growth and decreased serum IL-6 and IgE levels, but did not show adverse reactions such as body weight loss. The anti-MM activity of icaritin was mainly mediated by inhibiting IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling. We suggest that icaritin can be further tested in clinical trials in MM.
authors: Division of Hematology, Institute of Molecular Hematology, The Second Xiang-ya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors: Shicong
authors: S
authors: Zhu
authors: Division of Hematology, Institute of Molecular Hematology, The Second Xiang-ya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors: Zhihua
authors: Z
authors: Wang
authors: Division of Hematology, Institute of Molecular Hematology, The Second Xiang-ya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.|Division of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
authors: Zijian
authors: Z
authors: Li
authors: Division of Hematology, Institute of Molecular Hematology, The Second Xiang-ya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors: Hongling
authors: H
authors: Peng
authors: Division of Hematology, Institute of Molecular Hematology, The Second Xiang-ya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors: Yunya
authors: Y
authors: Luo
authors: Division of Hematology, Institute of Molecular Hematology, The Second Xiang-ya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors: Mingyang
authors: M
authors: Deng
authors: Division of Hematology, Institute of Molecular Hematology, The Second Xiang-ya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors: Ruijuan
authors: R
authors: Li
authors: Division of Hematology, Institute of Molecular Hematology, The Second Xiang-ya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors: Chongwen
authors: C
authors: Dai
authors: Division of Hematology, Institute of Molecular Hematology, The Second Xiang-ya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors: Yunxiao
authors: Y
authors: Xu
authors: Division of Hematology, Institute of Molecular Hematology, The Second Xiang-ya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors: Sufang
authors: S
authors: Liu
authors: Division of Hematology, Institute of Molecular Hematology, The Second Xiang-ya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors: Guangsen
authors: G
authors: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D053614:Janus Kinase 2 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D051379:Mice; D016688:Mice, Inbred NOD; D016513:Mice, SCID; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays; D000093242:Interleukin-6 Inhibitors
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; D053614:Janus Kinase 2; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; D000093242:Interleukin-6 Inhibitors; C494086:STAT3 protein, human; C507924:JAK2 protein, human; C499403:icaritin
keywords: IL6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling; antitumor activities; icaritin; multiple myeloma