title: Ferulic acid inhibits proliferation and promotes apoptosis via blockage of PI3K/Akt pathway in osteosarcoma cell.
abstract: Ferulic acid, a ubiquitous phenolic acid abundant in corn, wheat and flax, has potent anti-tumor effect in various cancer cell lines. However, the anti-tumor effect of ferulic acid on osteosarcoma remains unclear. Therefore, we conduct current study to examine the effect of ferulic acid on osteosarcoma cells and explore the underlying mechanisms. In present study, ferulic acid inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in both 143B and MG63 osteosarcoma cells dose-dependently, indicated by MTT assay and Annexin V-FITC apoptosis detection. Additionally, ferulic acid induced G0/G1 phase arrest and down-regulated the expression of cell cycle-related protein, CDK 2, CDK 4, CDK 6, confirmed by flow cytometry assay and western blotting. Moreover, ferulic acid upregulated Bax, downregulated Bcl-2, and subsequently enhanced caspase-3 activity. More importantly, ferulic acid dose-dependently inhibited PI3K/Akt activation. Using adenoviruses expressing active Akt, the anti-proliferation and pro-apoptosis of ferulic acid were reverted. Our results demonstrated that ferulic acid might inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis via inhibiting PI3K/Akt pathway in osteosarcoma cells. Ferulic acid is a novel therapeutic agent for osteosarcoma.
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Key Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqing 400016, China; Department of Orthopaedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqing 400016, China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatamy, Chongqing Medical University Chongqing 400016, China.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, Chongqing Medical University Chongqing 400016, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Molecular Oncology and Epigenetics Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University Chongqing 400016, China.
authors.forename: Hongzhong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Key Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Chongqing Medical University Chongqing 400016, China.
authors.forename: Weimin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Key Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Chongqing Medical University Chongqing 400016, China.
authors.forename: Ge
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kuang
keywords: Osteosarcoma; PI3K/AKT; apoptosis; ferulic acid; proliferation