Abstract
Bee venom (BV) has been used as a traditional medicine to treat arthritis, rheumatism, back pain, cancerous tumors, and skin diseases. However, the effects of BV on the colon cancer and their action mechanisms have not been reported yet. We used cell viability assay and soft agar colony formation assay for testing cell viability, electro mobility shift assay for detecting DNA binding activity of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and Western blotting assay for detection of apoptosis regulatory proteins. We found that BV inhibited growth of colon cancer cells through induction of apoptosis. We also found that the expression of death receptor (DR) 4, DR5, p53, p21, Bax, cleaved caspase-3, cleaved caspase-8, and cleaved caspase-9 was increased by BV treatment in a dose dependent manner (0-5 μg/ml). Consistent with cancer cell growth inhibition, the DNA binding activity of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) was also inhibited by BV treatment. Besides, we found that BV blocked NF-κB activation by directly binding to NF-κB p50 subunit. Moreover, combination treatment with BV and p50 siRNA or NF-κB inhibitor augmented BV-induced cell growth inhibition. However, p50 mutant plasmid (C62S) transfection partially abolished BV-induced cell growth inhibiton. In addition, BV significantly suppressed tumor growth in vivo. Therefore, these results suggested that BV could inhibit colon cancer cell growth, and these anti-proliferative effects may be related to the induction of apoptosis by activation of DR4 and DR5 and inhibition of NF-κB.
Highlights
Colon cancer is one of the major causes of cancer-related deaths in the world [1]
To determine whether the inhibition of cell growth by Bee venom (BV) treatment was due to induction of apoptosis, we evaluated the changes in colon cancer cells by using DAPI staining followed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TUNEL) assays, and the double labeled cells were analyzed by fluorescence microscope
DAPI-stained TUNEL-positive cells were concentration-dependently increased and the highest concentration of BV (5 μg/ml) caused most of cells TUNEL-positive, and apoptosis rates were 91.35% in HCT116 cells (Figure 2A) and 87.23% in SW480 cells (Figure 2B). These results demonstrated that BV treatment strongly induced apoptosis in colon cancer cells
Summary
Colon cancer is one of the major causes of cancer-related deaths in the world [1]. Colon cancer has an estimated incidence of over 1,000,000 new cases annually worldwide. Almost one of three patients with colon cancer dies from the disease. Colon cancer more often affects people of well-developed countries in comparison to less developed countries [2]. Several epidemiological and laboratory studies have demonstrated the association of colon cancer with environmental factors such as western style dietary habits, low fiber intake, tobacco-smoking, high fat diet, low calcium/micronutrient intake and lack of physical activities [3]. There are negative studies on fat, fiber and calcium in colon cancer development [4]. There is evidence that lifestyle factors like diet can modulate the course of this disease [5]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
