Investigation of Viburnum opulus L. Apoptotic Effect on LNCaP Prostate Cancer Cell Line

Abstract

The most common cancer seen in men worldwide is prostate cancer. It ranks second in the deadliest cancer types. Viburnum opulus is a type of tree that produces small red fruits. Shell, fruit, flower and juice of V. opulus are widely used in various fields and traditional medicine. Studies have shown that V. opulus also has an anti-cancer effect. For this purpose, the apoptotic effect of V. opulus was investigated in the LNCaP prostate cancer cell line. LNCaP human prostate cancer cells were treated with V. opulus extract in a 1-200 µg/mL concentration range. IC50 dose of V. opulus extract was determined by cell viability test XTT. Expressions of genes related to apoptosis after extract application were determined by quantitative RT-PCR analysis. V. opulus showed the cytotoxic effect on the LNCaP cell line, and differences in the expressions of apoptosis-related genes were observed. Significant increases in BAX, CASP7, CASP8 and P53 expressions showed that the pro-apoptosis pathway was active, while CASP3 expression was significantly decreased. The extrinsic apoptosis pathway of might be effective due to increased CASP7 and CASP8 gene expression. However, the molecular mechanism of apoptotic activity of V. opulus needs to be investigated in more detail.