title: Plumbagin exhibits an anti-proliferative effect in human osteosarcoma cells by downregulating FHL2 and interfering with Wnt/β-catenin signalling.
abstract: Plumbagin, a naphthoquinone constituent ofPlumbago zeylanicaL. (Plumbaginaceae) is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine as an antifungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory agent. Plumbagin is known to exhibit proapoptotic, antiangiogenic and antimetastatic effects in cancer cells. The transcriptional co-factor four and a half LIM domains 2 (FHL2) is a multifunctional adaptor protein that is involved in the regulation of gene expression, signal transduction and cell proliferation and differentiation, and also acts as a tumor suppressor or oncoprotein depending on the tissue microenvironment. The present study investigated the effect of plumbagin on FHL2 expression, Wnt/β-catenin signalling and its anti-proliferative activity in various human osteosarcoma cell lines, including SaOS2, MG63, HOS and U2OS. The cells were exposed to plumbagin and the expression of FHL2 was evaluated using western blot analysis. Furthermore, the anti-proliferative effect of plumbagin was evaluated using a 3-(4,5 dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. In addition, since FHL2 is involved in Wnt/β-catenin signaling, the effect of plumbagin on β-catenin and its primary target genes, including v-myc avian myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog (c-Myc) and WNT1 inducible signaling pathway protein-1 (WISP-1), was evaluated using western blot analysis. It was observed that plumbagin suppressed the expression of FHL2 and exhibited significant anti-proliferative activity in osteosarcoma cells. It also attenuated Wnt/β-catenin signalling by downregulating β-catenin and its target genes, including c-Myc and WISP-1. In conclusion, plumbagin demonstrated anti-proliferative activity in osteosarcoma cells by downregulating FHL2 and interfering with Wnt/β-catenin signalling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics of Clinical College, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yuan-Liang
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Suzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiang-Qi
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, People's Hospital of Yangxin, Binzhou, Shandong 251800, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Long-Jun
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yuan
keywords: FHL2; WISP-1; c-Myc; osteosarcoma; plumbagin; wnt/β-catenin signalling