Pentacyclic triterpenoids from spikes of Prunella vulgaris L. with thyroid tumour cell cytostatic bioactivities

Five new triterpenoids, including four ursane types (1-4) and one oleanane type (5), together with 15 known ursane types pentacyclic triterpenoids (6-20) were isolated from the fruit spikes of Prunella vulgaris L., a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Their structures were elucidated based on IR, HR-ESI-MS, and NMR spectroscopic data. The SW579 cell line was used to evaluate anti-thyroid cancer activities of (1-20). The results indicated that (7-9), (16), and (19) exhibited apparent inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ values of 25.73-71.41 μM (cisplatin as positive control, IC₅₀ 14.49 ± 0.97 μM). Network pharmacology and molecular docking were also used for the prediction of the synergistic actions and the underlying mechanisms. Accordingly, four potential targets have been characterized.

The effects of hyperoside on apoptosis and the expression of Fas/FasL and survivin in SW579 human thyroid squamous cell carcinoma cell line

This study investigated the effects of hyperoside on apoptosis of human thyroid squamous cell carcinoma cells (SW579) and measured changes in the expression of known apoptosis regulatory players Fas/FasL and survivin. SW579 cells were treated with increasing concentrations of hyperoside. The cell proliferation inhibition rate was measured by MTT assay. Morphological changes in cells were observed by microscopy. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry using AV-PI double staining. The normalized expression levels of Fas and FasL mRNAs were detected by reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), and the expression of the survivin protein was detected by western blotting. Our results showed that hyperoside significantly inhibited the activity of SW579 cells; obvious morphological changes were observed and apoptosis was induced in a dose-dependent manner. Hyperoside was shown to upregulate the expression of Fas and FasL mRNAs and downregulate the expression of the survivin protein. The results suggested that hyperoside can induce the apoptosis of the SW579 human thyroid squamous cell carcinoma cell line, and partially by upregulating the expression of Fas and FasL mRNAs and downregulating the expression of survivin protein in the process of apoptosis. Further studies on the use of hyperoside against cancer cells are required.