The American journal of Chinese medicine
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Celastrol is a natural terpenoid isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii, a well-known Chinese medicinal herb that presents anti-proliferative activities in several cancer cell lines. Here, we investigated whether celastrol induces apoptosis on hepatocellular carcinoma Bel-7402 cells and further explored the underlying molecular mechanisms. ⋯ Moreover, celastrol induced the release of cytochrome c and increased the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9, suggesting that celastrol-induced apoptosis was related to the mitochondrial pathway. These results indicated that celastrol could induce apoptosis in Bel-7402 cells, which may be associated with the activation of the mitochondria-mediated pathway.
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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 80% of lung cancer cases and the reported overall 5-year survival rate is less than 5%. Natural medicines have attracted much attention due to their lower toxicity and fewer side effects. ⋯ Flow cytometric analysis showed that TKM fruits significantly induced G2-M arrest, necrosis and apoptosis in NSCLC cells. cDNA microarray analysis revealed that TKM fruits regulated the differential expression of 544 genes, and the differential expression of selected genes was also confirmed. Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that 18 of first 20 biological processes were involved in cell cycle and mitosis. These results indicate that TKM fruits have certain inhibitory effect on NSCLC cells through cell-cycle and mitosis arrest, and suggest that TKM fruits may be an important resource for developing new antitumor drugs, and a potent natural product for treating patients with NSCLC.
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Bufalin, a component of Chan Su (a traditional Chinese medicine), has been known to have antitumor effects for thousands of years. In this study, we investigated its anti-metastasis effects on NCI-H460 lung cancer cells. Under sub-lethal concentrations (from 25 up to 100 nM), bufalin significantly inhibits the invasion and migration nature of NCI-H460 cells that were measured by Matrigel Cell Migration Assay and Invasion System. ⋯ In conclusion, bufalin is effective in inhibiting the metastatic nature of NCI-H460 cells in low, sub-lethal concentrations. Such an effect involves many mechanisms including MMPs, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and NF-κB systems. Bufalin has a potential to evolve into an anti-metastasis drug for human lung cancer in the future.
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α-Phellandrene (α-PA) is a cyclic monoterpene. To investigate the induction of autophagy by α-PA and its mechanism, human liver tumor cells (J5) were incubated with α-PA and analyzed for cell viability and the molecular regulation of pre-autophagosome origination and autophagosome formation. According to the results, PI3K-I, mTOR, and Akt protein levels were decreased after α-PA treatment compared to those of the control group (p < 0.05). ⋯ In addition, α-PA up-regulated nuclear p53 and down-regulated cytoplasmic p53 expression in J5 cells. The NF-κB pathway was activated, as indicated by increase in cytosolic phosphorylated IκB, nuclear NF-κB levels, and the DNA-binding activity of NF-κB after α-PA treatment in J5 cells (p < 0.05). These results suggest that α-PA can induce J5 cell autophagy by regulating mTOR and LC-3II expression, p53 signaling, and NF-κB activation in J5 cells.
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Traditional Chinese herbal products (CHPs) have been described in ancient medicine systems as treatments for various stroke-associated ailments. This study is aimed to investigate the prescription patterns and combinations of CHPs for ischemic stroke in Taiwan. Prescriptions of CHPs for ischemic stroke were obtained from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan. ⋯ Dan Shen (16.50%) was the most commonly used single CHP for ischemic stroke, and the most commonly used combination of two single CHPs was Shi Chang Pua with Yuan Zhi (4.79%). We found that BYHWT and Dan Shen were the most frequently prescribed formula and single CHP for ischemic stroke, respectively. These results provide information about individualized therapy and may contribute to further pharmacologic experiments and clinical trials.