Lin CL, Yu CI, Lee TH, Chuang JMJ, Han KF, Lin CS, Huang WP, Chen JYF, Chen CY, Lin MY, Lee CH. Plumbagin induces the apoptosis of drug-resistant oral cancer in vitro and in vivo through ROS-mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial dysfunction.
PHYTOMEDICINE : INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYTOTHERAPY AND PHYTOPHARMACOLOGY 2023;
111:154655. [PMID:
36689858 DOI:
10.1016/j.phymed.2023.154655]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Oral cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Chemotherapy is widely used in the treatment of oral cancer, but its clinical efficacy is limited by drug resistance. Hence, novel compounds capable of overcoming drug-resistance are urgently needed.
PURPOSE
Plumbagin (PG), a natural compound isolated from Plumbago zeylanica L, has been used to treat various cancers. In this study, we investigated the anticancer effects of PG on drug-resistant oral cancer (CR-SAS) cells, as well as the underlying mechanism.
METHODS
MTT assays were used to evaluate the effect of PG on the viability of CR-SAS cells. Apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by the cells were determined using flow cytometry. Protein expression levels were detected by western blotting.
RESULTS
The results show that PG reduces the viability and causes the apoptosis of CR-SAS cells. PG is able to induce intracellular and mitochondrial ROS generation that leads to mitochondrial dysfunction. Furthermore, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress was triggered in PG-treated CR-SAS cells. The inhibition of ROS using N-acetylcysteine (NAC) abrogated the PG-induced ER stress and apoptosis, as well as the reduction in cell viability. Meanwhile, similar results were observed both in zebrafish and in murine models of drug-resistant oral cancer.
CONCLUSION
Our results indicate that PG induces the apoptosis of CR-SAS cells via the ROS-mediated ER stress pathway and mitochondrial dysfunction. It will be interesting to develop the natural compound PG for the treatment of drug-resistant oral cancer.
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