[Effect of angular pyranocoumarin isolated from peucedanum praeruptorum on the proliferation and apoptosis of U266 cells]

The traditional uses, pharmacology, and phytochemistry of Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn

Bai Hua Qian Hu (Qianhu; Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn) is a classical medicinal plant traditionally prescribed for respiratory ailments, including cough, pulmonary hypertension, and asthma. In this review, we summarize the research progress of the toxicology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology, phytochemistry, botany, quality control, and traditional uses of P. praeruptorum in order to support future investigations into the scientific and therapeutic promise of this important medicinal plant. Information pertaining to P. praeruptorum was collected from scientific databases (ScienceDirect, Springer, SciFinder, PubMed, Baidu Scholar, Google Scholar, Web of Science), as well as toxicology papers from local conferences, M. Sc. and Ph.D. theses and dissertations, local magazines, classic texts on Chinese botanical drugs, and peer-reviewed journals. The Plant List (www.theplantlist.org) was utilized to verify the taxonomy of P. praeruptorum. P. praeruptorum was found to contain more than 119 distinct phytochemicals, including simple coumarins, pyranocoumarins, furanocoumarins, flavonoids, ketones, organic acids, and sterols, among others (e.g., praeruptorins A and B). Both crude plant extracts and purified metabolites of P. praeruptorum have been reported as treatments for hypertension, osteoporosis, Huntington's disease, and cancer. In addition, extracts of P. praeruptorum are reported to exhibit diverse pharmacological activities, including osteogenic, anti-osteoclastogenic, antidepressant, neuroprotective, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory effects. Research into the pharmacology and phytochemistry of P. praeruptorum partially support both traditional uses and extraction methods. However, further research is required to elucidate the relationships between these metabolites, their molecular mechanisms, their structure-function roles, and their antagonistic and synergistic effects.

Antiproliferative and Antimetastatic Effects of Praeruptorin C on Human Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Through Inactivating ERK/CTSD Signalling Pathways

Praeruptorin C (PC) reportedly has beneficial effects in terms of antiinflammation, antihypertension, and antiplatelet aggregation, and it potentially has anticancer activity. However, the effect of PC on human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is largely unknown. Compared with the effects of praeruptorin A and praeruptorin B, we observed that PC significantly suppressed cell proliferation, colony formation, wound closure, and migration and invasion of NSCLC cells. It induced cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase, downregulated cyclin D1 protein, and upregulated p21 protein. PC also significantly reduced the expression of cathepsin D (CTSD). In addition, the phosphorylation/activation of the ERK1/2 signalling pathway was significantly suppressed in PC-treated NSCLC cells. Cotreatment with PC and U0126 synergistically inhibited CTSD expression, cell migration, and cell invasion, which suggests that the ERK1/2 signalling pathway is involved in the downregulation of CTSD expression and invasion activity of NSCLC cells by PC. These findings are the first to demonstrate the inhibitory effects of PC in NSCLC progression. Therefore, PC may represent a novel strategy for treating NSCLC.

Praeruptorin A Inhibits Human Cervical Cancer Cell Growth and Invasion by Suppressing MMP-2 Expression and ERK1/2 Signaling

Praeruptorin A (PA) is a pyranocumarin present in the dried root of Peucedanumpraeruptorum Dunn that has anticancer effects against several types of cells. However, the effect of PA on human cervical cancer cells is unknown. Our results indicate that PA significantly inhibited cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, invasion, and wound closure of HeLa and SiHa cells, induced cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase, upregulated Rb, p16, p21 and p27 proteins and downregulated cyclin D1 and S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (Skp2) proteins. PA also significantly reduced expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and increased expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2). In addition, PA suppressed ERK1/2 activation and increased the effect of PD98059 (a specific MEK1/2 inhibitor) in downregulation of MMP-2 and upregulation of TIMP-2. PA treatment inhibited the effect of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) on upregulation of ERK1/2 activation, MMP-2 expression, cellular migration, and invasion of HeLa cells. Our findings are the first to demonstrate the activity of PA against cervical cancer cells, and suggest this agent has promise as a therapeutic agent in treatment of human cervical cancer.

Diffuse Large B-Cell Breast Lymphoma: A Case Series

Primary breast lymphoma (PBL) is a rare disease, and few clinicohistopathologic features of the disease have been discussed in previous studies. It represents 2.2% of extranodal lymphomas and constitutes 0.04% to 0.5% of malignant breast neoplasms, despite the clinical and radiographic similarities between breast lymphoma and carcinoma, the prognosis, as reported in the literature, varies. No consensus exists on the best way to treat PBL. However, radiotherapy and chemotherapy were used alone or in combination to treat various cases of PBL. We retrospectively studied 3 cases of PBL of the breast seen in patients attending a tertiary cancer center in Qatar, between 2012 and 2015, in an attempt to determine the common clinical features, therapy, and prognosis of PBL.