Abstract
BackgroundTrans-ferulic (FA) acid exhibits antioxidant effects in vitro. However, the underlying mechanism of trans-FA activity in cellular physiology, especially cancer physiology, remains largely unknown. This study investigated the cellular physiological effects of trans-FA on the H1299 human lung cancer cell line.MethodsThe 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay was used to determine free radical scavenging capability. Assessment of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was evaluated using oxidized 2ʹ,7ʹ-dichlorofluorescin diacetate and dihydroethidium staining. Trypan blue exclusion, colony formation, and anchorage-independent growth assays were used to determine cellular proliferation. Annexin V staining assay was used to assess cellular apoptosis by flow cytometry. Wound healing and Boyden’s well assays were used to detect the migration and invasion of cells. Gelatin zymography was used to detect matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-2 and MMP-9) activity. Western blotting was used to detect expression levels of various signaling pathway proteins.ResultsDPPH assay results indicated that trans-FA exerted potent antioxidant effects. However, trans-FA increased intracellular ROS levels, including hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anion, in H1299 cells. Trans-FA treatment inhibited cellular proliferation and induced moderate apoptotic cell death at the highest concentration used (0.6 mM). Furthermore, trans-FA moderately inhibited the migration of H1299 cells at the concentrations of 0.3 and 0.6 mM and attenuated MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity. Trans-FA caused the phosphorylation of β-catenin, resulting in proteasomal degradation of β-catenin. Conversely, trans-FA treatment increased the expression of pro-apoptotic factor Bax and decreased the expression of pro-survival factor survivin.ConclusionVarious concentrations (0.06–0.6 mM) of trans-FA exert both anti-proliferation and anti-migration effects in the human lung cancer cell line H1299.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13020-016-0116-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Trans-ferulic (FA) acid exhibits antioxidant effects in vitro
The short‐term effect of trans‐Ferulic acid (FA) on proliferation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells H1299 cells were treated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or different concentrations of trans-FA for 24 or 48 h before gross morphological changes were examined by light microscopy to determine the effect of trans-FA on cell growth (Fig. 2a)
Trans‐FA‐induced apoptosis in lung cancer cells We investigated whether inhibition of proliferation by trans-FA was achieved by apoptosis in H1299 cells
Summary
Trans-ferulic (FA) acid exhibits antioxidant effects in vitro. the underlying mechanism of transFA activity in cellular physiology, especially cancer physiology, remains largely unknown. This study investigated the cellular physiological effects of trans-FA on the H1299 human lung cancer cell line. Chemopreventive treatment is moderate or non-cytotoxic to normal cells, but significantly inhibits cancer cell growth or metastasis. Accumulating evidence shows that anti-oxidative compounds isolated from plants exert potentially chemopreventive effects. Among these compounds are carotenoids, curcumin, and hesperidin [13, 14]. Anticancer compounds derived from plants, including goniothalamin and feruloyl-l-arabinose, were shown to inhibit the growth and metastasis of human lung cancer cells [15, 16]. Moscatilin, isolated from the orchid Dendrobrium loddigesii, inhibited metastasis of both human breast and lung cancer cells [17, 18]
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