Abstract 4394: Novel edible medicinal plant induced cytotoxic and apoptotic effects on ovarian cancer cells

Abstract

Abstract Ovarian cancer (OC) is the leading cause of death in gynecologic cancer and the fifth most common form of cancer diagnosed among women. Caucasians have a higher incidence and mortality rate compared to African-Americans. The low survival rate of ovarian cancer among patients is caused by the fact that ovary organs are located inside the pelvic region in the female reproductive system; many cases are diagnosed in advanced stage, when cancer has already metastasized beyond the ovaries. Consequently, there is an urgent need to prevent ovarian cancer at the early stage and provide effective treatment. Herbal medicine with lesser or no side effect is currently considered as an alternative cancer treatment because it possesses many bioactive compounds essential to destroy cancer cells. A preliminary study in our laboratory demonstrates that extracts of Vernonia species have antitumor activities against cancer cells. Therefore, our overall goal in this study was to test the therapeutic mechanisms of a Vernonia species (an edible medical plant) in the treatment of ovarian cancer. To reach our goal, we tested the cytototic and apoptotic effects of the Vernonia species on OVCAR-3 cells. Data generated from the trypan blue test and MTT assay demonstrated that extracts of Vernonia species exhibited significant growth-inhibitory effects on OVCAR-3 cells. Oxidative stress biomarkers showed slight decrease in the production of malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and an increase in catalase activity and glutathione peroxidase in treated cells compared to the control group. Further experiments, including cell morphology and apoptosis analysis, showed that VA caused growth-inhibitory effects on OVCAR-3 cells through cell cycle arrest at the Go/G1 checkpoint and activation of caspase-3 activity leading to apoptosis. Collectively, findings from this study provide convincing scientific evidence that the Vernonia species tested here may represent a potential anticancer candidate against ovarian cancer. This research work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (Grant No. NIMHD-G12MD007581). Citation Format: Ariane T. Mbemi. Novel edible medicinal plant induced cytotoxic and apoptotic effects on ovarian cancer cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4394.