Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2012, 13(7), 9184-9193; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms13079184
Effect of β,β-Dimethylacrylshikonin on Inhibition of Human Colorectal Cancer Cell Growth in Vitro and in Vivo
1
Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Obstetric & Gynecologic and Pediatric Disease of Ministry of Education, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
2
Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750004, Ningxia, China
3
Department of Radiology, West China University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
4
Chengdu General Military Hospital, Chengdu, 610083, Sichuan, China
†
These two authors contributed equally to this work.
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 28 May 2012 / Revised: 2 July 2012 / Accepted: 9 July 2012 / Published: 23 July 2012
Abstract
In traditional Chinese medicine, shikonin and its derivatives, has been used in East Asia for several years for the prevention and treatment of several diseases, including cancer. We previously identified that β,β-dimethylacrylshikonin (DA) could inhibit hepatocellular carcinoma growth. In the present study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of DA on human colorectal cancer (CRC) cell line HCT-116 in vitro and in vivo. A viability assay showed that DA could inhibit tumor cell growth in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Flow cytometry showed that DA blocks the cell cycle at G0/G1 phase. Western blotting results demonstrated that the induction of apoptosis by DA correlated with the induction of pro-apoptotic proteins Bax, and Bid, and a decrease in the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl. Furthermore, treatment of HCT-116 bearing nude mice with DA significantly retarded the growth of xenografts. Consistent with the results in vitro, the DA-mediated suppression of HCT-116 xenografts correlated with Bax and Bcl-2. Taken together, these results suggest that DA could be a novel and promising approach to the treatment of CRC. View Full-TextKeywords:
β,β-dimethylacrylshikonin; apoptosis; anti-tumor; colorectal cancer
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).
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Fan, Y.; Jin, S.; He, J.; Shao, Z.; Yan, J.; Feng, T.; Li, H. Effect of β,β-Dimethylacrylshikonin on Inhibition of Human Colorectal Cancer Cell Growth in Vitro and in Vivo. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2012, 13, 9184-9193.
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