Sensitivity and mechanisms of taxol-resistant prostate adenocarcinoma cells to Vernonia amygdalina extract

Changes in the oxidative stress factors and inflammatory proteins following the treatment of BPH-induced dogs with an anti-proliferative agent called tadalafil

BACKGROUND

Finding a medical treatment which can combat cell proliferation and relax smooth muscles in canine benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) appears to be imperative.

AIMS

This study aimed to evaluate the oxidative stress and inflammatory proteins following the treatment of dogs induced for BPH with an anti-proliferative agent called tadalafil.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty-five adult intact male dogs were randomly designated into five groups (n = 5): Control group was not induced for BPH and not treated with tadalafil; dogs induced for BPH by testosterone enanthate and estradiol benzoate and treated with tadalafil (5 mg/day P.O.); dogs which received tadalafil (5 mg/day P.O.); dogs induced for BPH and treated with castration; and dogs induced for BPH. Oxidative stress factors (glutathione peroxidase [GPX], superoxide dismutase [SOD], catalase) and inflammatory proteins (haptoglobin, serum amyloid A [SAA], malondialdehyde [MDA]) were measured in the blood serum for four sequential weeks.

RESULTS

Glutathione peroxidase and SOD serum levels declined in dogs in the BPH-induced group compared to those in the control group. Those levels diminished in BPH-induced castrated and tadalafil-treated groups. The changes in the GPX and SOD serum concentrations were not significant between the BPH-induced castrated group and BPH-induced tadalafil-treated group. Moreover, MDA concentration increased slightly in groups with BPH and groups which were castrated. Generally, however, there were no significant differences in the MDA serum concentrations between other groups. Haptoglobin and SAA concentrations increased in BPH-castrated group. Also, the differences in haptoglobin and SAA were not significant between the groups.

CONCLUSION

Tadalafil could not control oxidative stress and inflammatory mediators which happened during BPH in dogs.

Oxidative stress in prostate hyperplasia and carcinogenesis

Prostatic hyperplasia (PH) is a common urologic disease that affects mostly elderly men. PH can be classified as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or prostate cancer (PCa) based on its severity. Oxidative stress (OS) is known to influence the activities of inflammatory mediators and other cellular processes involved in the initiation, promotion and progression of human neoplasms including prostate cancer. Scientific evidence also suggests that micronutrient supplementation may restore the antioxidant status and hence improve the clinical outcomes for patients with BPH and PCa. This review highlights the recent studies on prostate hyperplasia and carcinogenesis, and examines the role of OS on the molecular pathology of prostate cancer progression and treatment.

Chemotherapeutic Vulnerability of Triple-negative Breast Cancer Cell-derived Tumors to Pretreatment with Vernonia amygdalina Aqueous Extracts

BACKGROUND

Unresponsive to most clinical therapies, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the dominant biological cause of population-based racioethnic disparities in breast cancer mortality in the United States. We report the chemotherapeutic vulnerability of TNBC cells and stem cell-derived tumors to Vernonia amygdalina aqueous leaf extracts (VA extracts). VA extracts arrest cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in vitro and inhibit growth of implanted tumors and show chemo-preventive efficacy in vivo.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

H(RAS) cells and MDA-MB-468 cells were subcutaneously implanted into nude mice with or without pretreatment with VA extracts before chemotherapeutic treatment with VA extracts and/or paclitaxel to evaluate their ability to inhibit tumor growth.

RESULTS

The most significant reduction in tumor volume was observed in the MDA-MB-468 cell-induced tumors following VA extract pre-treatment compared to those from HRAS cell implantation.

CONCLUSION

VA extracts induce apoptosis, exhibit additive effects, inhibit tumor growth and display chemo-preventive actions against TNBCs.

Recent perspectives on the anticancer properties of aqueous extracts of Nigerian Vernonia amygdalina

Innovative developments are necessary for treating and defeating cancer, an oftentimes deadly group of diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. Breast cancer (BC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths of women in the USA, and prostate cancer (PC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths of American men. Although some efficacious BC drugs are pharmaceutically marketed, they affect the quality of life for some patients because they are toxic in that their usages have been accompanied by side effects such as stroke, thrombosis, slow heart rate, seizure, increased blood pressure, nausea, emesis, and more. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the discovery of molecular markers for early detection of this disease and discovery of targets for the development of novel, less toxic therapeutics. A botanical plant Vernonia amygdalina has been widely used in Nigerian and other Central and West African cultures for centuries as an herbal medicine. Mounting evidence suggests that treatment with low concentrations of aqueous leaf extracts of the edible Nigerian V. amygdalina plant (Niger-VA) arrests the proliferative activities and induces apoptosis in estrogen receptor-positive, estrogen receptor-negative, and triple-negative human breast cancerous cells and in androgen-independent human PC-3. Also, in athymic mice, Niger-VA potentiates increased efficacies and optimizes treatment outcomes when given as a cotreatment with conventional chemotherapy drugs. Evidence of its noticeable cytostatic activities ranging from changes in DNA synthesis to growth inhibition, mechanisms of inducing apoptosis in different cancer cell lines, and in vivo antitumorigenic activities and chemopreventive efficacy reinforce the idea that Niger-VA deserves increased attention for further development as a phytoceutical, anticancer drug entity. Hence, the present review article highlights impactful published literature on the anticancer effects of Niger-VA in multiple cancerous cell lines and in a nude mouse model, supporting its potential usefulness as a natural product, chemotherapeutic medicine for treatment of both BC and PC.