title: Clinacanthus nutans (Burm. f.) Lindau Ethanol Extract Inhibits Hepatoma in Mice through Upregulation of the Immune Response.
abstract: Clinacanthans nutans (Burm. f.) Lindau is a popular medicinal vegetable in Southern Asia, and its extracts have displayed significant anti-proliferative effects on cancer cells in vitro. However, the underlying mechanism for this effect has yet to be established. This study investigated the antitumor and immunomodulatory activity of C. nutans (Burm. f.) Lindau 30% ethanol extract (CN30) in vivo. CN30 was prepared and its main components were identified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). CN30 had a significant inhibitory effect on tumor volume and weight. Hematoxylin and eosin (H &amp; E) staining and TUNEL assay revealed that hepatoma cells underwent significant apoptosis with CN30 treatment, while expression levels of proliferation markers PCNA and p-AKT were significantly decreased when treated with low or high doses of CN30 treatment. Western blot analysis of PAPR, caspase-3, BAX, and Bcl2 also showed that CN30 induced apoptosis in hepatoma cells. Furthermore, intracellular staining analysis showed that CN30 treatment increased the number of IFN-γ⁺ T cells and decreased the number of IL-4⁺ T cells. Serum IFN-γ and interleukin-2 levels also significantly improved. Our findings indicated that CN30 demonstrated antitumor properties by up-regulating the immune response, and warrants further evaluation as a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment and prevention of cancers.
authors.affiliation: School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China. danminhuang@126.com.|Bio Nice Food Science Sdn. Bhd. No.5, Jalan SILC ¼, Perindustrian SILC, Nusajaya, Johor 79200, Malaysia. danminhuang@126.com.
authors.forename: Danmin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China. guowj06@126.com.
authors.forename: Wenjie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China. jinggao@mail.ujs.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China. shchen@ujs.edu.cn.|School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China. shchen@ujs.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China. pere@fastermail.com.
authors.forename: Joshua Opeyemi
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Olatunji
mesh_terms: D027901:Acanthaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D051379:Mice; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D000431:Ethanol
keywords: Clinacanthus nutans; apoptosis; immunoregulation; tumor