title: Anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities of girinimbine isolated fromMurraya koenigii.
abstract: Therapy that directly targets apoptosis and/or inflammation could be highly effective for the treatment of cancer.Murraya koenigiiis an edible herb that has been traditionally used for cancer treatment as well as inflammation. Here, we describe that girinimbine, a carbazole alkaloid isolated fromM. koenigii, induced apoptosis and inhibited inflammation in vitro as well as in vivo. Induction of apoptosis in human colon cancer cells (HT-29) by girinimbine revealed decreased cell viability in HT-29, whereas there was no cytotoxic effect on normal colon cells. Changes in mitochondrial membrane potential, nuclear condensation, cell permeability, and cytochrome c translocation in girinimbine-treated HT-29 cells demonstrated involvement of mitochondria in apoptosis. Early-phase apoptosis was shown in both acridine orange/propidium iodide and annexin V results. Girinimbine treatment also resulted in an induction of G0/G1 phase arrest which was further corroborated with the upregulation of two cyclin-dependent kinase proteins, p21 and p27. Girinimbine treatment activated apoptosis through the intrinsic pathway by activation of caspases 3 and 9 as well as cleaved caspases 3 and 9 which ended by triggering the execution pathway. Moreover, apoptosis was confirmed by downregulation of Bcl-2 and upregulation of Bax in girinimbine-treated cells. In addition, the key tumor suppressor protein, p53, was seen to be considerably upregulated upon girinimbine treatment. Induction of apoptosis by girinimbine was also evidenced in vivo in zebrafish embryos, with results demonstrating significant distribution of apoptotic cells in embryos after a 24-hour treatment period. Meanwhile, anti-inflammatory action was evidenced by the significant dose-dependent girinimbine inhibition of nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide/interferon-gamma-induced cells along with significant inhibition of nuclear factor-kappa B translocation from the cytoplasm to nucleus in stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Girinimbine was also shown to have considerable antioxidant activity whereby 20 μg/mL of girinimbine was equivalent to 82.17±1.88 μM of Trolox. In mice with carrageenan-induced peritonitis, oral pretreatment with girinimbine helped limit total leukocyte migration (mainly of neutrophils), and reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine levels (interleukin-1beta and tumor necrosis factor-alpha) in the peritoneal fluid. These findings strongly suggest that girinimbine could act as a chemopreventive and/or chemotherapeutic agent by inducing apoptosis while suppressing inflammation. There is a potential for girinimbine to be further investigated for its applicability in treating early stages of cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Venoos
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Iman
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Center, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Syam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohan
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Center, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Siddig Ibrahim
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Abdelwahab
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Hamed
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karimian
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Noraziah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nordin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry.
authors.forename: Mehran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fadaeinasab
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Mohamad Ibrahim
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Noordin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Suzita Mohd
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Noor
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D016207:Cytokines / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D019073:HT29 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D032101:Murraya / Q000737:chemistry*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000096:biosynthesis; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D016207:Cytokines; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; C034052:girinimbine; D009569:Nitric Oxide
keywords: apoptosis; carbazole alkaloid; chemopreventive; chemotherapeutic; inflammation