Antitumor effects of herbal mixture extract in the pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line PANC1.
A recent study showned that complementary medicine is gradually gaining wide acceptance. In the present study, the herbal mixture extract (H3) composed of 3 oriental herbal plants was investigated for anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo. H3 inhibited PANC1 cell growth by promoting G0/G1 arrest (11% increase) and apoptotic cell death (9% increase). H3 also suppressed stem cell-like side population cells (4% decrease) and migration activity (24% decrease). In contrast, gemcitabine decreased side population cells and migration activity by 3 and 11%, respectively. These effects of H3 and gemcitabine were further studied by examining the expression of apoptosis-associated genes (CXCR4, JAK2 and XIAP) and stem cell-associated genes (ABCG2, POU5F1 and SOX2). We also found that H3 suppressed tumor growth by 46% in a PANC1‑xenograft model, while gemcitabine caused a 36% decrease. The antitumor effects of H3 were confirmed by western blot analysis for COX-2 and cytochrome c expression. Furthermore, necrotic cell death and erythrocyte-containing cavities were detected in tumor tissue by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Notably, the combinatorial therapy (H3 and gemcitabine) increased tumor growth compared to that in the control. In conclusion, the present study shows that H3 has promise as a therapeutic agent against pancreatic cancer and its cancer stem cells.
Department of Biosystems and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
Pyo June
PJ
Pak
Department of Biosystems and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
Beob Hwa
BH
Kang
Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.
Sung Hyo
SH
Park
Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.
Ji Hyun
JH
Sung
Department of Biosystems and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
Yong Hoon
YH
Joo
School of Oriental Medicine, Dongguk University, Goyang 10326, Republic of Korea.
Seung Hyun
SH
Jung
Department of Biosystems and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
Namhyun
N
Chung
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D029001:Herbal Medicine; D006801:Humans; D053614:Janus Kinase 2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051636:X-Linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
C527276:CXCR4 protein, human; D010936:Plant Extracts; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4; D051636:X-Linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein; C496866:XIAP protein, human; C507924:JAK2 protein, human; D053614:Janus Kinase 2