Abstract
The dietary compound phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), is an active component of cruciferous vegetables and markedly inhibits the growth of a variety of tumors. However, its role in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is obscure. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the possible mechanisms whereby PEITC exhibited anticancer properties in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma NPC-TW01 cells in vitro. The experiment results exhibited that in a dose- and time-dependent manner treatment of NPC-TW01 cells with PEITC significantly inhibited cell proliferation, promoted apoptosis with concurrent G2/M cell cycle arrest and inhibited cell invasion in a dose-dependent manner. These effects were accompanied by significant alterations in the expression levels of key proteins associated with pro-survival signaling pathways, including PI3K, Akt, ERK, NF-κB, Bcl, Bax, cyclin B, CDK4 and CDK6. Significantly, these effects were not reflected in 16HBE normal human bronchial epithelial cells, indicating a safe range of treatment concentrations between 0 and 10 μM PEITC. In conclusion, PEITC exhibited significant anticancer effects against human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells in vitro with low toxicological impact on normal bronchial epithelial cells. This was achieved through dysregulation of key proteins involved in the occurrence and development of tumors, and this approach may be applied to the clinical treatment of NPC and in drug screening.
Highlights
In nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), tumors originate from the epithelial cells that cover the surface of the nasopharynx
The influence of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) treatment on proliferation in human NPC-TW01 nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells and normal 16HBE bronchial epithelial cells was determined by CCK-8 assays
The results showed that PEITC exerted profound dose- and time-dependent antiproliferative effects on the growth of NPC-TW01 cells when administered between 0 and 10 μM for treatment times from 0-72 h (Figure 1A)
Summary
In nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), tumors originate from the epithelial cells that cover the surface of the nasopharynx. Despite novel advances in radiotherapy, chemotherapy and gene-targeting agents, the overall survival rate of patients with aggressive phase NPC remains low [4]. One potential resource for a new generation of therapeutic agents targeting the prevention and treatment of NPC may be natural substances. It has been suggested that phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), an important tumoricidal component found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower may possess anticancer properties against various malignancies, including breast, colon and prostate cancers [7,8,9,10,11]. The role of PEITC in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells remains largely unknown
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