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.

Colorectal cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality that accounts for over 9% of all incidences of cancer. Additionally, colorectal cancer is widely recognized as an environmental disease related to ill-defined cultural, social and lifestyle factors including physical activity, obesity, cigarette smoking and heavy alcohol consumption. Accordingly, natural phytochemicals and extracts have attracted attention because of their beneficial biological effects. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a common supplementary medicine applied to increase bioenergetic capacity in various diseases. Therefore, in this study, we investigated whether CoQ10 treatment has any inhibitory effects and its related cellular mechanisms in human colon cancer HCT116 cells. A MTT assay revealed that CoQ10 slightly decreased the proliferation of HCT116 cells; however, glutathione- and superoxide dismutase- activity were unchanged in response to CoQ10 treatment. A DCF-DA assay revealed that CoQ10 slightly increased ROS release of HCT116 cells. However, in a nitric oxide (NO) assay, CoQ10 significantly increased NO production in a dose-dependent manner. The results of western blot analysis revealed that the protein levels of Bax, p21 and p53 were increased, whereas the protein level of Bcl2 was decreased suggesting that the CoQ10-mediated inhibitory mechanism is associated with apoptotic signaling. Taken together, our findings indicate that CoQ10 has an inhibitory effect on the growth of colon cancer cells via NO production that is associated with regulation of factors involved in apoptotic signaling including Bax, Bcl2, p21 and p53.

해양생물을 포함한 천연물질은 신약개발의 원천 소재로서 매력적이며, 특히 무수한 미지의 해양생물들의 연구가 관심을 받고 있다. 기존의 연구에서 미크로네시아에서 채취한 해면동물 40여종에 대하여 항증식 효과를 다양한 암세포주에서 검색한 바 있다. 본 연구에서는 그 중 Cos-cinoderma sp.의 작용 및 그 기전을 살펴보았다. 특히, 암억제유전자 p53의 발현을 억제시킨 세포주(HCT116 p53KO 과 RKO-E6)에서의 차이점을 비교하였다. 세포생존률 시험에서 Coscinoderma sp. 추출물은 p53의 유무와 상관없이 암세포의 증식을 억제하였음을 확인하였다. 이 암세포증식 억제 효과가 p53 존재에 따라 다르게 나타나는지 알아보기 위하여 세포사멸 관련 단백질 발현양을 Coscinoderma sp. 처리한 각 세포주에서 비교하였다. 그 결과, Coscinoderma sp.를 HCT16 세포주에 처리하였을 때, p53과 Noxa의 발현이 증가하는 것을 관찰하였고, caspase-9이 분절되면서 감소하는 것으로부터 apoptosis를 일으킨다고 여겨진다. 반면, p53이 결핍된 HCT116세포주에서는 Coscinoderma sp. 에 의하여 p21과 mTOR의 발현이 증가되는 것을 확인하였고, 이는 senescence를 야기할 수 있다고 여겨진다. 본 연구로부터 Coscinoderma sp.는 p53의 존재여부에 따라 상이한 작용기전을 매개하여 대장암 세포주의 증식을 억제한다는 것을 알 수 있었다. 이는 새로운 항암제의 개발 가능성을 제시하는 것으로, Coscinoderma sp.의 활성 성분에 대한 지속적인 연구가 이루어 져야 할 것으로 보인다.

Epimedium koreanum Nakai has been used in traditional medicine as an aphrodisiac, hypotensive, and neurasthenia;however, the cellular mechanism of E. koreanum Nakai cultivated in North Korea on HCT116 colon cancer cellactivity has not been investigated. This study is to investigate the effect of E. koreanum Nakai on apoptosis of thehuman colon cancer cell line HCT116. The anti-proliferative activity of E. koreanum Nakai on HCT116 was iden-tified through MTT, Western Blot, and RT-PCR analyses. The results show that 70% ethyl alcohol extracts of E.koreanum Nakai inhibited the growth of HCT116 colon cancer cells (IC50: 1.2mg/mL on 24 hr). Concomitant acti-vation of the mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathway occurred via modulation of Bcl-2 and Bax expressions,resulting in activation of cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9.

The Maillard Reaction Products (MRPs) such as Glucose-tyrosine (Glu-Tyr) and Xylose-arginine (Xyl-Arg) have antioxidant, antimutagenic, and antibacterial effects. However, to date, still little is known about the other biological effects of the MRPs. In this study, we investigated whether the fructose-tyrosine MRP, 2,4-bis(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butenal (Fru-Tyr), could modulate cell cycle progression and NF-κB activity, and thereby induce apoptotic cell death of colon cancer cells. Treatment with different concentrations (10-40 μg/ ml) of Fru-Tyr for 24 h inhibited colon cancer cell (SW620 and HCT116) growth followed by induction of G₂/M phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. We also found that Fru-Tyr suppressed tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)-induced NF-κB transcriptional activity. Moreover, Fru-Tyr induced the expression of apoptotic gene, cleaved caspse-3. These results suggest that Fru-Tyr inhibited colon cancer cell growth through induction of G₂/M phase cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death by modulating of NF-κB.

The HMG box containing protein (HBP) has a high mobility group domain and involved in the regulation of proliferation and differentiation of tissues. We screened HBP2 in glioblastoma using Suppression Subtractive Hybridization (SSH) and isolated human spermatogonial stem cell‐like cells (hSSC‐like cells) derived from patients of nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA). Expression of HBP2 was analyzed by RT‐PCR in undifferentiated stem cells (human Embryonic Stem Cells, hSSC‐like cells 2P) and spontaneous differentiated stem cells (hSSC‐like cells 4P). It was overexpressed in hESC and hSSC‐like cells 2P but not in hSSC‐like cells 4P. Also, the expression level of HBP2 was downregulated in colon tumor tissues compared to normal tissues. Specifically in synchronized WI‐38 cells, HBP2 was highly upregulated until the G1 phase of the cell cycle and gradually decreased during the S phase. Our results suggest that HBP2 was downregulated during the spontaneous differentiation of hSSC‐like cells. HBP2 was differently expressed in colon tissues and was related to G1‐progression in WI‐38 cells. It may play a role in the maintenance of an undifferentiated hSSC‐like cell state and transits from G1 to S in WI‐38 cells. This research was important that it identified a biomarker for an undifferentiated state of hSSC‐like cells and characterized its involvement to arrest during cell cycle in colon cancer.

Backgrounds : The action mechanisms of several chemopreventive agents derived from herbal medicine and edible plants have become attractive issues in cancer research. Tea is the most widely consumed beverage worldwide. It have been demonstrated that the active principles of tea sources such as flower extract Camellia sinensis (CSF) and Camellia japonica (CJF)were attributed to their tea polyphenols. We focused on investigating CSF, CJF, mixtures of CSF and CJF has been proven to suppress colonic tumorigenesis. Methods and Results : In this study, human colorectal carcinoma HT-29 cells were treated with CSF, CJF, mixture of CSF and CJF to examine the anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of mixture of CSF and CJF (3 : 1), as well as the molecular mechanism underlying these effects. Cell viability assay, nuclear staining, DNA fragmentation, caspase assay, cytochrome c release, were utilized to dissect the signaling pathways. In mixture of CSF and CJF (3 : 1), CSF appeared most anticancer effect by both MTT assays and the cleavage analysis of apoptosis-related molecules and PARP. Interestingly, we found that CJF make it possible to express the apotosis inducing by CSF in a short time and apoptosis effect of CSF maintained sustainable. Conclusion : In summary, our results from this study suggest that in HT-29 human colon cancer cells (i) CSF treatment causes damage to mitochondria, and (ii) CJF contributed CSF induced apoptotic cell death mediates cytochrome C release, (ⅲ) mixture of CSF and CJF (3 : 1) the potential to function as a chemopreventive agent against colon cancer.

본 연구는 폐기되고 있는 대두박을 기능성 식품 원료로 이용하기 위하여 대두박 70%에탄올 추출물로부터 Diaion HP-20 흡착수지를 이용하여 조사포닌을 분리 한 후 이들에 대한 항산화 효과 및 대장암세포 성장 억제효과를 조사하였다. Diaion HP-20 흡착 수지를 이용하여 분획한 물, 20% 및 100% 주정 분획물을 TLC상 확인한 결과 100% 주정분획물에서 조사포닌들이 함유되어 있음을 확인 할 수 있었다. 대두박 조사포닌은 고농도에