Abstract
In this study, the effect of emodin and its mechanism of action were investigated in LOVO colorectal cancer cells. Cell growth was determined using a Cell Counting kit-8 assay, and the results demonstrated that emodin significantly inhibited the growth of LOVO cells in a concentration-dependent manner. In order to investigate the anticancer mechanism of emodin, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assays were performed to determine the B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2)/Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) expression ratio in LOVO colorectal cancer cells following treatment with emodin. The results showed that emodin induced a significant increase in the Bax expression level and a marked reduction of the Bcl-2 expression level in LOVO cells. In addition, emodin was found to have an inhibitory effect on the mitochondrial membrane potential and the results from the western blot analysis revealed that cytochrome c was released from the mitochondria to the cytoplasm. In combination, these results suggest that emodin inhibits cancer cell growth via the regulation of the Bcl-2/Bax ratio and by its effect on the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.
Highlights
Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality and is a major public health concern worldwide (Guo)
The results indicated that the mitochondrial membrane potential was significantly decreased by emodin (Fig. 3)
In order to investigate the antiproliferative effect of emodin on LOVO cells in vitro, cell proliferation was measured using the CCK‐8 assay
Summary
Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality and is a major public health concern worldwide (Guo). A naturally occurring compound that may be extracted from various Chinese plants, including Rheum officinale and Polygonum cuspi‐ datum [1], is known for its anticarcinogenic effects that have been demonstrated in a variety of experimental cancer models [2]. Previous studies have shown that emodin exerts antiproliferative and apoptosis‐inducing effects on cell lines derived from ovarian [4] and lung [5] cancer and leukemia [6]. At present there is little information demonstrating the possible antiproliferative effect of emodin on colorectal cancer. In the present study, the inhibitory effect of emodin on cell proliferation in a colorectal cancer cell line was investigated, as well as the molecular mechanisms involved
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