Human bitter taste-sensing type 2 receptors (hTAS2Rs) are expressed in various human tissues and may be associated with various cell signaling pathways, cell progression, and cell physiology in each tissue. hTAS2Rs can be a potential drug target because it is also expressed in some cancer cells. Xanthorrhizol (XNT) has various biological activities, such as anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant. XNT produces a bitter taste, but the specific hTAS2R activated is unknown, and the hTAS2R-mediated effect of XNT on cancer cells has not been studied. This study discovered the target receptor of XNT among 25 hTAS2Rs and confirmed the possibility of the hTAS2R-mediated inhibition of cancer cell proliferation. XNT activated only one receptor, hTAS2R38 (EC50=1.606±0.021 g/mL), and its activity was inhibited by probenecid, a hTAS2R38 antagonist. When HepG2 and MCF-7 cells were treated with XNT or phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), a known hTAS2R38 agonist, both chemicals inhibited cancer cell proliferation. XNT targets the human bitter taste receptor TAS2R38 and inhibits the proliferation of HepG2 and MCF-7 cells mediated by TAS2R38. This suggests that TAS2R38 may be a new target for disease treatment and a potential new factor for drug development.

배경/목적: ROS는 악성종양의 성장 및 공격과 관련이 있다. UDCA는 담도암 세포에서 진행과 전이에 밀접한 EGFR-MAPK 신 호 경 로 와 EMT를 억 제 한 다 . 이 연 구 는 UDCA가 담도암세포에서 ROS 생성 및 그에 관련된 바이오마커에 어떠한 영향을 주는지 알아보기 위해 시행되었다. 방 법 : 인간 간외 담관암 세포주인 SNU-245세포를 배양하였다. 세포생존율은 MTT assays로, ROS는 세포 ROS assays kit로 측정하였다. Western blotting으로 다양한 표적 단백질의 발현 수준을 측정하였다. 특정 유전자의 억제를 위해 siRNA를 사용하였고, 특정 유전자의 과발현을 위해 shRNA를 사용하였다. 결과: UDCA는 담도암 세포에서 DCA에 의한 peroxide와 ROS가 생성되는 것을 억제하였으며, DCA로 발현이 증강된 STAT3, PRX2 및 SOD2를 억제하였고, IGF-1에 의해 발현이 증강된 NOX2 및 NOX4를 억제하였다. 또한, 담도암 세포에서 SiRNA를 이용한 STAT3 및 PRX2의 억제는 UDCA 처치와 상관없이 EGF에 의해 약화된 E-cadherin 발현을 복원하고 EGF에 의해 증가된 N-cadherin 발현을 억제하였는데, 이는 UDCA의 EMT 억제에 PRX2/STAT3가 상당한 역할을 하는 것을 의미한다. 덧붙여, UDCA는 담도암 세포에서 DCA에 의해 억제된 catalase의 발현을 복원하였다. 한편, ShRNA를 사용한 NOX4의 과발현의 유도는 UDCA의 항종양 효과를 상쇄하였다. 결론: UDCA는 담도암 세포에서 ROS 생성을 억제하고, ROS 제거를 향상시킴으로써, 결국 EMT와 관련된 STAT3 및 PRX2를 억제한다, 따라서, UDCA는 ROS 활성도 및 EMT의 억제를 통하여 담도암 세포의 성장 및 침습을 억제하는 데 기여한다.

Background: A breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide and among different types of breast cancers, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has a poor prognosis. Methods: We investigated the potential of ginsenoside compound K (CK), an active ingredient in the bio-transformed ginsenoside, to be used as a therapeutic ingredient by examining the effects of CK on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and cancer-related gene expressions in breast cancer cells. Results: From the results of treating MCF-7, an ER and PR-positive breast cancer cells, and MDA-MB-231 (TNBC) with CK at a concentration of 0-100 μM, the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values for each cell were 52.17 μM and 29.88 μM, respectively. And also, it was confirmed that cell migration was inhibited above the IC50 concentration. In addition, fluorescence analysis of Apoptosis/Necrosis showed that CK induced apoptosis rather than necrosis of breast cancer cells. Through qPCR, it was confirmed that the expression of genes related to apoptosis and cell cycle arrest was increased in CK-treated breast cancer cells, and it acted more effectively on TNBC. However, the expression of genes related to tumor invasion and metastasis is also increased, so it is necessary to consider the timing of application of CK as a potential therapeutic anticancer compound. Conclusions: CK showed a stronger inhibitory effect in TNBC with poor prognosis but considering the high tumor invasion and metastasis-related gene expression, the timing of application of CK should be considered.

Background: This study has mainly focused on finding pharmacological effects of ginsenosides that can reduce the unwanted side effects of the cytotoxic anticancer drugs and are highly effective on prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer, hormone-dependent breast cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, and brain cancer (neuroblastoma). Methods: Minor and rare ginsenosides (GS) of Rh2 which have a high absorption ability and excellent pharmacological actions were treated with the 6 different types of cancer cell lines and their anticancer activities were investigated by analyzing gene expressions associated with various cancers through qPCR and other relevant methods. Results: In cancer cells exposed to Rh2, cell viability and cell migration were reduced, and apoptosis was induced. Each cancer cell was divided into three groups according to the cell proliferation response by Rh2; 1) A group in which the cell viability decreases inversely to an increase in Rh2 treatment concentration; 2) A group in which the cell viability rapidly decreases in Rh2 treatment above a certain level of concentration; 3) A group in which the cell viability was not suppressed below 20-30% even with 100 μL of Rh2, the highest concentration used in this study. Conclusions: It was shown that Rh2 has a significant effect on inhibiting the proliferation of prostate cancer cells and hormone-dependent breast cancer cells.

In this study, the quality characteristics of kimchi, such as its salinity, pH, and acidity, were measured and compared, and the HT-29 human colon cancer cells were used to show the anticancer effects of kimchi. The kimchi samples used herein included standard kimchi (SK), turnip kimchi (TK), and turnip-powder-added kimchi (TPK). The measured pH and acidity of TK and TPK showed no significant differences with those of SK. Compared to SK and TK, TPK had higher DPPH scavenging activity and higher total flavonoid content, confirming its antioxidant activity. The cancer cell growth inhibition rates of TK and TPK were significantly higher than that of SK. In HT-29 cells treated with TPK, the mRNA expression of Bcl-xL, an anti-apoptosis-related gene, was lower, and the mRNA expressions of the apoptosis-related genes Bax, Bad, and caspase-9 were higher. TPK showed significantly higher levels of mRNA expressions for the cell-cycle-related genes p53 and p21 than the other samples, in addition to suppression effects on cancer cell proliferation. Compared to SK, TK and TPK suppressed the growth of colon cancer cells and showed higher anticancer effects. Therefore, it is shown that kimchi with added turnip powder had high anticancer effects.

Porphyromonas gingivalis, a major pathogen of chronic periodontitis, colonizes in subgingival crevice and affects surrounding oral tissues, especially in periodontitis patients. Oral cancer mainly occurs in old-aged persons, and are exposed to the P. gingivalis, released from periodontitis, one of the most common inflammatory disease of oral cavity. Thus oral cancer cells may be infected with P. gingivalis, and its biologic behavior are autologously and/or heterogeneously modulated by altering gene expression. Exosomes which are derived from cells contain not only coding genes but also non-coding RNAs such as long non-coding RNAs, miRNA, and piRNAs. Here, to investigate the effect of P. gingivalis on oral cancer cells and to gain insight into the crosstalk between inflammatory signal from tumor microenvironment and oral cancer, we observed miRNA profiles of exosomes from P. gingivalis–infected oral cancer cells. Upregulation of 6 miRNAs, miR-203-3p, miR-6516-3p, miR-483-5p, miR-1275, miR-8485, and miR-19a-3p, were observed whereas 14 miRNAs including let-7a-3p, miR-106a-5p were downregulated. In addition, KEGG pathway analysis using the upregulated- and downregulated- miRNAs showed association with cell adhesion molecules pathway and ECM-receptor interaction pathway, respectively. These findings suggest that P. gingivalis could modulate biologic behavior of oral cancer cells through changes of exosomal miRNAs.

Preserving intact genetic material and delivering it to the next generation are the most significant tasks of living organisms. The integrity of DNA sequences is under constant threat from endogenous and exogenous factors. The accumulation of damaged or incompletely-repaired DNA can cause serious problems in cells, including cell death or cancer development. Various DNA damage detection systems and repair mechanisms have evolved at the cellular level. Although the mechanisms of these responses have been extensively studied, the global RNA expression profiles associated with genomic instability are not well-known. To detect global gene expression changes under different DNA damage and hypoxic conditions, we performed RNA-seq after treating human cervical cancer cells with ionizing radiation (IR), hydroxyurea, mitomycin C (MMC), or 1% O2 (hypoxia). Results showed that the expression of 184–1037 genes was altered by each stimulus. We found that the expression of 51 genes changed under IR, MMC, and hypoxia. These findings revealed damage-specific genes that varied differently according to each stimulus and common genes that are universally altered in genetic instability.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the biological activity of fucoidan, a sulfur-containing polysaccharide, on cytotoxicity and apoptosis in the human HT-29 colorectal cancer cell line using cell viability, Flow cytometry, Western blot, and RT-PCR analyses. Fucoidan inhibited the proliferation of HT-29 cells by 39.6% at a concentration of 100 μg/mL for 72 h. The inhibition was dose-dependent and accompanied by apoptosis. Flow cytometric analysis showed that fucoidan increased early apoptosis and late apoptosis by 65.84% and 72.09% at concentrations of 25 and 100 μg/mL, respectively. Analysis of the mechanism of these events indicated that fucoidan-treated cells exhibited increases in the activation of caspase-3, caspase-8, and PARP in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that fucoidan may inhibit the growth of human colorectal cancer cells by various apoptosis-promoting effects, as well as by apoptosis itself.

Comparing the quality characteristics of kimchi were measured and anticancer effects using AGS human gastric cancer cells were observed. Five kinds of kimchi samples were made of Kanghwa Baek kimchi (KB), Kangwha Turnip kimchi (KT), Turnip: Chinese cabbage = 1:1 Baek kimchi (T1B1), Turnip:Chinese cabbage = 4:1 Baek kimchi (T4B1), Turnip mul kimchi (T). As a result T kimchi showed the best fermentation characteristics among the five samples. T kimchi had a lower percentage of the total number of aerobic bacteria, while the number of lactobacillus was higher than that of other samples. The mRNA and protein expression levels of apoptosis-related factors found that T kimchi significantly increases the mRNA expression levels of caspases-3 and caspases-9 in AGS human gastric cancer cells as compared to the other kimchi samples. It showed high anticancer effects in the order of T, T1B1, and KB kimchi. As the anticancer effect of Turnip mul kimchi made only of turnip was higher, the higher the turnip content, the higher the anticancer effect. These results show that there were changes in fermentation characteristics such as pH, acidity, number of lactic acid bacteria, and anticancer effects according to the ratio of turnip and cabbage.

Lindera glauca Blume has been used in Korean traditional medicine to treat the symptoms of paralysis, abdominal pain, speech disorders, extravasations, contusions, and pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis. We investigated the effect of L. glauca Blume extracts on the proliferation of colorectal cancer cells in vitro using HCT116 human colorectal cancer cell lines. We also investigated its mechanism of action. For this purpose, we used the MTT assay, western blotting, DNA fragmentation analysis, and flow cytometry. HCT116 cells were cultured in several concentrations of ethanol extracts of L. glauca Blume root (0, 50, 100 μg/mL). In this study, colon cancer cell growth was inhibited by L. glauca Blume root extract in a dose-dependent manner. It was associated with induction of apoptosis as assessed by nuclear fragmentation and cell cycle analysis. Apoptosis was assessed using western blotting for TNF-α, IL-6, NF-κB, Caspase-3, PARP, Bax, Bcl-2, and SIRT1. The extract also dose-dependently upregulated the expression Bax, the pro-apoptotic gene and downregulated the expression of the anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2. Furthermore, the extract enhanced Caspase-3 activity in a dose-dependent manner. Our findings provide evidence that L. glauca Blume extract may mediate its anti-proliferative effect via the modulation of apoptosis.

Fenbendazole (FBZ) is one of the safest anthelmintic drugs. FBZ has been found to have anti-cancer effects by destabilizing microtubules. In this study, a synergistic effect of paclitaxel (PA), a microtubule-stabilizing anti-cancer agent, and FBZ was investigated on HL-60 cells, a human leukemia cell line. The metabolic activity of cells significantly decreased and the nucleus morphology upon the treatment of FBZ and PA based on 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide assay and Hoechst 33342 staining, respectively. To investigate the involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the metabolic activity of the cells after treatment of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) was measured. Indeed, NAC significantly increased the metabolic activity of the cells treated with FBZ and PA, suggesting that both drugs affect at least in part via ROS. Furthermore, FBZ and PA increased cell death in an annexin V- fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide staining assay. Taken together, FBZ and PA have a synergistic anti-cancer activity on HL-60 cells at a certain concentration. These results may provide researchers and clinicians in cancer-related fields with some valuable information to broaden the use of FBZ.

Vinpocetine induces anti-inflammatory effects in various inflammatory diseases via the inhibition of phosphodiesterase type-1-independent nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway and the release of inflammatory cytokines. In this study, we investigated the effect of vinpocetine on the proliferation of colon cancer cells and its underlying molecular mechanisms. Our data showed that vinpocetine inhibits the viability and proliferation of colon cancer cells. Vinpocetine treatment induced cell death in HCT116 cells, which the percentages of sub-G1 phase were significantly increased, and the apoptosis-related genes were regulated after HCT116 cells were treated with vinpocetine. In sum, our findings indicated that vinpocetine could be a therapeutically useful candidate in the treatment of colon cancer.

Human melatonin receptors consist of melatonin receptor 1A (MT1) and melatonin receptor 1B (MT2), and possess various biological activations, which include the control of circadian rhythm and immune regulation. Recently, it have been found that melatonin receptors inhibit cell proliferation and have oncostatic properties, which is being researched in the treatment strategies of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Also, interest in the effect of melatonin receptor’s correlation to head and neck carcinogenesis and application possibilities on head and neck cancer has been found. However, in head and neck cancer, how melatonin receptor relates and functions with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which plays a major role in human carcinogenesis, is yet unknown. In this research, in HSC5 cell and YD15 cell, the head and neck cancer cell lines, a selective melatonin receptor antagonist, Luzindole, was utilized to examine the effect of melatonin receptors on EMT. After treating Luzindole on HSC5 cells and YD15 cells, the authors evaluated cell viability rate with CCK 8 assay, and performing colony forming assay, invasion assay and western blot analysis, to confirm melatonin receptor’s effect on EMT. When Luzindole was treated on HSC5 cells and YD15 cells in low concentration of 100nM, no significant difference in cell viability was found, whereas Luzindole-treated cells had a significantly increase in the invasion assay. As a result of colony forming assay, in YD15 cells, the number of colony formation decreased slightly, whereas in HSC3 cells, the number of colony formation increased. According to the western blotting, no difference in E-cadherin, Slug, and vimentin protein expression was shown. This result of research indicates the possibility of melatonin receptor being related to EMT and new chemotherapeutic target in the carcinogenesis of head and neck cancer.

Colon cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors, but there are still a few validated biomarkers of colon cancer. Exosome-mediated microRNAs (miRNAs) have been recognized as potential biomarkers in cancers, and miRNAs can regulate a variety of genes. Recently, Fusobacterium nucleatum was discovered in the tissues of human colon cancer patients. Its role in colon cancer was highlighted. F. nucleatum may contribute to the progression of colon cancer through the mechanism of exosome-mediated miRNAs transfer. However, the exosomal miRNAs regulation mechanism by F. nucleatum in colon cancer is not well known. Thus, we performed next-generation sequencing to investigate the overall pattern of exosomal miRNAs expression in the colon cancer cell culture supernatant. We have confirmed the alterations of various exosomal miRNAs. In addition, to investigate the function of exosomal miRNAs, a Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis was performed on the target genes of changed miRNAs. Potential target genes were associated with a variety of signaling pathways, and one of these pathways was related to colorectal cancer. These findings suggested that F. nucleatum can alter exosomal miRNAs released from colorectal cancer cells. Furthermore, exosomal miRNAs altered by F. nucleatum could be potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and therapy of colon cancer.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide and currently there are many approaches developing towards cancer treatment. Cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy are often painful and have adverse effects. The mechanism of apoptosis is a complex process and it involves different pathways in its mechanism of action. Apoptosis can be caused by signals within the cell such as stress, or by extrinsic signals such as ligands binding to cell surface death receptors. The programmed cell death plays a important role in the several physiological and pathological processes. It plays important role in homeostasis. Flavonoids have gained importance as anticancer agents promoting cytotoxicity and apoptosis in cancer cells. Flavonoids are present in many medicinal plants which are a kind of ubiquitous natural products and essential active ingredients. They have strong biological activities with high efficiency and low toxicity, possessing good preventive and cure effects on different tumor forms. Flavonoids such as Scutellarein, Pectolinarigenin and Naringin have reported to possess significant anti-cancer effects on different cancer cell lines till date. In this review, we provide a summary about the anti-cancer effect of the three flavonoids and its mechanisms of action that can be used in future for understanding their potent anti-tumor properties.

Hypoxia is one of the most common features of cancer. It is also associated with cancer progression and the acquisition of aggressiveness, which includes invasion and metastasis. Oral squamous cell carcinoma accounts for 90% of all oral cancers, and its 5-year survival rate is about 50%. Despite various attempts and trials, its prognosis has not improved. Among numerous adverse prognostic factors, hypoxia is suspected as one of the most important factors, as it increases the aggressiveness of oral cancer cells. We attempted to observe the effect of hypoxia on the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers in oral cancer cells. We analyzed and compared both the mRNA and protein expression levels of epithelial-mesenchymal markers using qRT-PCR and western blotting in both normoxic and hypoxic YD10B oral squamous cell carcinoma cells. Eighty-six genes were analyzed through real-time PCR using commercial microarray plates, performed in triplicate. Among the 86 genes, the expression of 24 were increased (≥ 2 fold) by hypoxia, while that of three genes was decreased (≥ 2 fold). Hypoxia significantly affects epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related genes. Further studies on the regulation of these genes may help to develop more efficient therapeutic modalities for oral cancer and to improve prognosis of oral cancer patients.