Effect of Uncaria tomentosa Extract on Apoptosis Triggered by Oxaliplatin Exposure on HT29 Cells

The Hydroalcoholic Extract of Uncaria tomentosa (Cat's Claw) Inhibits the Infection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) In Vitro

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a serious problem for public health since it was identified in the province of Wuhan (China) and spread around the world producing high mortality rates and economic losses. Nowadays, the WHO recognizes traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine for treating COVID-19 symptoms. Therefore, we investigated the antiviral potential of the hydroalcoholic extract of Uncaria tomentosa stem bark from Peru against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. The antiviral activity of U. tomentosa against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro was assessed in Vero E6 cells using cytopathic effect (CPE) and plaque reduction assay. After 48 h of treatment, U. tomentosa showed an inhibition of 92.7% of SARS-CoV-2 at 25.0 μg/mL (p < 0.0001) by plaque reduction assay on Vero E6 cells. In addition, U. tomentosa induced a reduction of 98.6% (p=0.02) and 92.7% (p=0.03) in the CPE caused by SARS-CoV-2 on Vero E6 cells at 25 μg/mL and 12.5 μg/mL, respectively. The EC50 calculated for the U. tomentosa extract by plaque reduction assay was 6.6 μg/mL (4.89–8.85 μg/mL) for a selectivity index of 4.1. The EC50 calculated for the U. tomentosa extract by TCID50 assay was 2.57 μg/mL (1.05–3.75 μg/mL) for a selectivity index of 10.54. These results showed that U. tomentosa, known as cat's claw, has an antiviral effect against SARS-CoV-2, which was observed as a reduction in the viral titer and CPE after 48 h of treatment on Vero E6 cells. Therefore, we hypothesized that U. tomentosa stem bark could be promising in the development of new therapeutic strategies against SARS-CoV-2.

Treatment with Uncaria tomentosa Promotes Apoptosis in B16-BL6 Mouse Melanoma Cells and Inhibits the Growth of B16-BL6 Tumours

Uncaria tomentosa is a medicinal plant native to Peru that has been traditionally used in the treatment of various inflammatory disorders. In this study, the effectiveness of U. tomentosa as an anti-cancer agent was assessed using the growth and survival of B16-BL6 mouse melanoma cells. B16-BL6 cell cultures treated with both ethanol and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) extracts of U. tomentosa displayed up to 80% lower levels of growth and increased apoptosis compared to vehicle controls. Treatment with ethanolic extracts of Uncaria tomentosa were much more effective than treatment with aqueous extracts. U. tomentosa was also shown to inhibit B16-BL6 cell growth in C57/bl mice in vivo. Mice injected with both the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of U. tomentosa showed a 59 ± 13% decrease in B16-BL6 tumour weight and a 40 ± 9% decrease in tumour size. Histochemical analysis of the B16-BL6 tumours showed a strong reduction in the Ki-67 cell proliferation marker in U. tomentosa-treated mice and a small, but insignificant increase in terminal transferase dUTP nick labelling (TUNEL) staining. Furthermore, U. tomentosa extracts reduced angiogenic markers and reduced the infiltration of T cells into the tumours. Collectively, the results in this study concluded that U. tomentosa has potent anti-cancer activity that significantly inhibited cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

The genus Uncaria: A review on phytochemical metabolites and biological aspects

The genus Uncaira (Rubiaceae) comprises of 34 species, many of which are usually used as traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) to treat hypertension, fever, headache, gastrointestinal illness, and fungal infection. Over the past twenty years, Uncaira species have been paid the considerable attentions in phytochemical and biological aspects, and about 100 new secondary metabolites, including alkaloids, triterpenes, and flavonoids, have been elucidated. This review aims to present a comprehensive and up-to date overview of the biological source, structures and their biosynthetic pathways, as well as the pharmacological of the compounds reported in the genus Uncaria for the past two decades. It would provide an insight into the emerging pharmacological applications of the genus Uncaria.

Synthesis and X-ray study of dispiro 8-nitroquinolone analogues and their cytotoxic properties against human cervical cancer HeLa cells

A series of unique dispiro analogues containing an oxindole pyrrolidine 8-nitroquinolone hybrid has been obtained through a one-pot three-component 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides generated in situ from the condensation of isatins and benzylamine with (E)-3-arylidene-2,3-dihydro-8-nitro-4-quinolones. The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were characterized by using different spectroscopic techniques and by X-ray diffraction studies of their regio- and stereochemistry. All the synthesized compounds were screened for in vitro cytotoxic activity against the human cervical cancer cell line HeLa. The compounds have exhibited potent inhibition against human cervical cancer cells and insignificant toxicity to normal cells. The compounds 6d, 6a, 6h, 6b, and 6e induced apoptosis of HeLa cells, through ROS influx. The expression levels of proteins involved in the mitochondrion-related pathways were detected, and Western blot analysis showed that apoptosis occurred via activation of caspase-3.

Anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of Uncaria tomentosa aqueous extract in squamous carcinoma cells

Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC. (Rubiacee), also known as uña de gato, is a plant that grows wild in the upper Amazon region of Peru and has been widely used in folk medicine to treat several health conditions including cancer. We have produced an aqueous extract from Uncaria tomentosa (UT-ex) and analyzed its effects on squamous carcinoma cells and immortalized HaCaT keratinocytes. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells arising in the skin's squamous layer of epidermis. When detected at an early stage, SCCs are almost curable, however, if left untreated, they can penetrate the underlying tissue and become disfiguring. We have evaluated cell proliferation, apoptosis and the level of reactive oxygen species following UT-ex treatment. UT-ex affected cell cycle progression and reduced cell viability in a dose and time-dependent manner. From a mechanistic point of view, this delay in cell growth coincided with the increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Furthermore, PARP1 cleavage was associated to the reduction of Y-box binding protein 1 (YB-1) 36kDa, a nuclear prosurvival factor involved in DNA damage repair. These data indicate that UT-ex-induced cell death can be ascribed, at least in part, to its ability both to induce oxidative DNA damage and antagonize the mechanism of DNA repair relying upon YB-1 activity. They also show that non metastatic SCCs are more susceptible to UT-ex treatment than untransformed keratinocytes supporting the use of UT-ex for the treatment of precancerous and early forms of squamous cell carcinomas. Preliminary chemical investigation of UT-ex revealed the presence of hydrophilic low-medium molecular weight metabolites with anticancer potential towards squamous carcinoma cells.

Uncaria tomentosa (Willd. ex Schult.) DC (Rubiaceae) Sensitizes THP-1 Cells to Radiation-induced Cell Death

Background:

Uncaria tomentosa (Willd. ex Schult.) DC (Rubiaceae), known as Cat's Claw or Uña de gato, is a traditionally used medicinal plant native to Peru. Some studies have shown that U. tomentosa can act as an antiapoptotic agent and enhance DNA repair in chemotherapy-treated cells although others have shown that U. tomentosa enhanced apoptosis.

Objective:

To determine if treatment with U. tomentosa can significantly enhance cell death in THP-1 cells exposed to ionizing radiation.

Materials and Methods:

THP-1 monocyte-like cells were treated with ethanolic extracts of U. tomentosa in the presence or absence of bacterial lipopolysaccharide and then exposed to ionizing radiation. Cell proliferation was assessed by MTT and clonogenic assays and the effects on cell cycle measured by flow cytometry and immunoblotting. Changes in cell signaling were determined by immunoblotting and cytokine ELISA and activation of apoptosis measured by caspase activation and DNA fragmentation analysis.

Results:

Treatment of THP-1 cells with U. tomentosa had a small effect on cell proliferation. However, when the U. tomentosa-pretreated cells were also subjected to 5–9 Gy ionizing radiation, they showed a significant decrease in cell proliferation and increased cellular apoptosis as measured by DNA fragmentation and caspase activation. Treatment with U. tomentosa also decreased the expression of Cyclin E and Cyclin B, key regulators of normal cell cycle progression, and decreased the phosphorylation of various stress-activated, cell survival proteins including p38, ERK, and SAP/JNK kinase.

Conclusions:

These results suggest that U. tomentosa could be useful in enhancing cell death following anticancer therapies including ionizing radiation.

SUMMARY

Treatment of THP-1 cells with Uncaria tomentosa increases their susceptibility to X-rays. The combination of Uncaria tomentosa and X-ray exposure strongly inhibits cell signaling and promotes apoptosis.

Abbreviations Used: LPS: Lipopolysaccharide, TNF: Tumor necrosis factor: IL-1, Interleukin-1: SDS: Sodium dodecylsulphate, TBS: Tris-buffered saline.

Structurally novel steroidal spirooxindole by241 potently inhibits tumor growth mainly through ROS-mediated mechanisms

Cancer cells always have increased ROS levels, thus making them more vulnerable to persistent endogenous oxidative stress. The biochemical difference between cancer and normal cells could be exploited to achieve selective cancer cell killing by exogenous ROS-producing agents. Herein we described a structurally novel steroidal spirooxindole by241 and its anticancer efficacy. By241 exhibited potent inhibition against human cancer cells and less toxic to normal cells. By241 concentration-dependently induced apoptosis of MGC-803 and EC9706 cells, accompanied with the mitochondrial dysfunction and increased ROS levels. NAC can completely restore the decreased cell viability of MGC-803 cells caused by by241, suggesting ROS-mediated mechanisms. The expression levels of proteins involved in the mitochondrion-related pathways were detected, showing increased expression of proapoptotic proteins and decreased expression of anti-apoptotic proteins, and activation of caspases-9/-3, but without activating caspase-8 expression. Pretreatment with Z-VAD-FMK partially rescued by241-induced apoptosis of MGC-803 cells. Additionally, by241 inhibited mTOR, activated p53 and its downstream proteins, cleaved MDM2 and PI3K/AKT as well as NF-κB signaling pathway. In vivo experiments showed that by241 did not have significant acute oral toxicity and exerted good anticancer efficacy against MGC-803 bearing mice models. Therefore, by241 may serve as a lead for further development for cancer therapy.