Abstract
Guan Chang Fu Fang (GCFF) is a natural compound, which is extracted from three medicinal plants, Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb., Patrinia scabiosaefolia and Solanum nigrum L. GCFF has demonstrated clinical efficacy in the treatment of colon cancer. At present, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is the primary active chemotherapeutic agent used for treating colon cancer. Using median-effect and apoptosis analyses, fluorescence microscopy and western blotting, the present study analyzed the association between GCFF and 5-FU in the human colon adenocarcinoma LoVo cell line. The effect of GCFF on the expression of chemotherapeutic agent-associated genes was also investigated. The results of the synergistic analysis revealed that GCFF exhibited a significant effect upon 5-FU-associated cytotoxicity within the LoVo cell line. This effect was observed over a broad dose-inhibition range (5–95%), but was particularly significant in the lower concentrations. The flow cytometry results revealed that low doses of GCFF or 5-FU induced S-phase arrest, as did a low-dose combination of the two drugs. After 48 h, GCFF significantly suppressed the expression levels of the chemotherapeutic agent resistance-associated genes within the colon cancer cells. The western blot analysis revealed that the combined effects of 5-FU and GCFF were due to a regulation of the B-cell lymphoma-2 family of proteins. The findings of the present study suggested that GCFF, when combined with 5-FU, has the potential to be a novel, chemotherapeutic compound for the treatment of colon cancer.
Highlights
Colorectal carcinoma is one of the most prevalent forms of cancer that exists within Western countries (1), and is the second and third most common type of cancer in males and females, respectively
Guan Chang Fu Fang (GCFF) affects the mRNA expression of chemotherapeutic agent resistance‐related genes
The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the cytotoxic effect of 5‐FU could be enhanced by the Chinese herbal medicinal compound, GCFF; this was determined using media‐effect analysis, flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy
Summary
Colorectal carcinoma is one of the most prevalent forms of cancer that exists within Western countries (1), and is the second and third most common type of cancer in males and females, respectively. The majority of patients with advanced colon cancer require cytotoxic chemotherapy as a primary treatment (2). 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) has been widely used to treat cases of colon cancer. A number of attempts have been made to improve the objective response rates to chemotherapy, including the use of 5‐FU in combination with other agents. The optimal combination regimen has not yet been identified, and the standard treatment modality remains debatable (3). A requirement exists to identify novel compounds and optimized combined therapies for the treatment of colon cancer. A growing number of patients have selected herbal medicinal compounds as complementary therapies, in combination with conventional chemotherapeutic treatments (4). Due to the narrow therapeutic windows of existing chemotherapeutic drugs, these synergistic or additive interactions may improve the therapeutic results and decrease the necessary doses of current chemotherapeutic agents
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