Piperlongumine induces apoptosis in colorectal cancer HCT 116 cells. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Piperlongumine Induces Apoptosis in Colorectal Cancer HCT 116 Cells Independent of Bax, p21 and p53 Status.
Anticancer Res. 2018 Nov ;38(11):6231-6236. PMID: 30396942
Fernanda DA Silva Machado
BACKGROUND/AIM: Colorectal cancer is a common type of cancer with reported resistance to treatment, in most cases due to loss of function of apoptotic and cell-cycle proteins. Piperlongumine (PPLGM) is a natural alkaloid isolated from Piper species, with promising anti-cancer properties. This study investigated whether PPLGM is able to induce cell death in colorectal carcinoma HCT 116 cells expressing wild-type or deficient in Bax, p21 or p53.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: PPLGM was extracted from roots of Piper tuberculatum. Cell viability was determined by reduction of 3-(4,5-dimethilthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and clonogenic assay. Cell death was evaluated by acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining and flow cytometry. Plasmid cleavage activity and circular dichroism DNA interaction were also analyzed.
RESULTS: PPLGM induced selective cell death in all cell lines (ICrange from 10.7 to 13.9μM) with an increase in the number of late apoptotic cells and different profiles in cell-cycle distribution. Plasmid DNA analysis showed that PPLGM does not interact directly with DNA.
CONCLUSION: This paper suggests that PPLGM may be a promising candidate in colorectal cancer therapy.