Abstract
BackgroundMusk is widely used in clinical practice for its anti-cancer properties. Here, we treated various types of cancer using musk to determine which cancers are sensitive to musk treatment. We also compared effects of native musk and synthetic musk ketone in cancer cells. Furthermore, we investigated mechanisms underlying effects of musk.MethodsTwenty two cancer cell lines were treated with musk. Cell proliferation and apoptosis analyses were carried out. Native musk and synthetic musk ketone were analyzed by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) assay. Differentially expressed genes were determined by microarray and quantitative real–time polymerase chain reaction.ResultsNative musk strongly induced the growth repression and the apoptosis in the majority of cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner, but distinct types of cancer showed significantly different reactions. Cancer cells which originated from epithelial cells showed higher sensitivity for musk treatment. By contrast, leukaemia and lymphoma cells were not sensitive. GC-MS analysis demonstrated that native musk contains more than 30 contents in which musk ketone is a major component; synthetic musk ketone was consistent with natural musk ketone, and the used sample of synthetic musk ketone contained only sole component. Similar to native musk, synthetic musk ketone induced the growth repression and the apoptosis of cancer cells. Additionally, numerous genes were differentially expressed in lung cancer cells after native musk treatment. These differentially expressed genes were involved in many signalling pathways. Among these pathways, apoptosis-related pathways included interleukin family, tumor necrosis factor family, and MAPK signalling pathway. Native musk and synthetic musk ketone can up-regulate IL-24 (interleukin family) and DDIT3 (MAPK signalling pathway) in lung cancer cells.ConclusionsThis research provided strong evidence that native musk and synthetic musk ketone can induce the growth repression and the apoptosis of cancer cells. However, the selection of sensitive cancer patient for individualized treatment is a key step in clinical application. Synthetic musk ketone can substitute for native musk to treat cancer patients. Musk might induce the growth repression and the apoptosis of lung cancer cells through up-regulating IL-24 and DDIT3 expressions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12906-016-1493-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Musk is widely used in clinical practice for its anti-cancer properties
Native musk treatment inhibited the proliferation of cancer cells and induced the apoptosis Up to the 22 cancer cell lines were used in this study
The data indicated that musk treatment induced the growth repression in the 17 cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner, but did not show any effect in the 5 other cancer cell lines
Summary
Musk is widely used in clinical practice for its anti-cancer properties. Here, we treated various types of cancer using musk to determine which cancers are sensitive to musk treatment. Increasing numbers of anti-cancer drugs have been applied in clinical practice, most cancer patients presented poor prognosis because of lack of effective treatment. From TCM, several effective anti-cancer drugs had been discovered and developed, such as arsenic trioxide (As2O3) for treatment of acute promyelocytic leukaemia [1, 2] and camptothecin for solid tumours [3]. Musk (Shexiang, Moschus), as a common and valuable TCM, is widely applied to treat various diseases. Musk is used for antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, immunity-enhancing, and treatments of gas heavy diseases in clinical practice. In the 1990s, a TCM named ‘compound TIANXIAN capsule’ which contained musk as the main ingredient, was used to treat gastrointestinal tumors and had shown a certain effect [8]. Toona sinensis and Moschus decoction induced cell cycle arrest in HeLa cells [11]
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