Abstract
Fermented wheat germ extract (FWGE) is a nutrient supplement and a potential antitumor ingredient for developing an integrated chemotherapy with standard chemotherapeutic drugs for treating ovarian cancer patients. In this study, we evaluated the tumor suppression efficiency of FWGE in human ovarian carcinoma cells, SKOV-3 and ES-2, and found the half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) to be 643.76 μg/mL and 246.11 μg/mL after 48 h of FWGE treatment. FWGE treatment also induced programmed cell death by activating the caspase-7 cleavage in both SKOV-3 and ES-2 cells, but only caspase-3 and poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase cleavages were activated in SKOV-3 cells. Moreover, FWGE exhibited combination drug effects with cisplatin and docetaxel in SKOV-3 and ES-2 cells by enhancing the cytotoxicity of both drugs. In conclusion, we found that FWGE not only suppressed cell growth but also induced caspase-3-related and caspase-7-related cell death in human ovarian carcinoma cells. FWGE treatment further enhanced the cytotoxicity of cisplatin and docetaxel, suggesting that FWGE is a potential ingredient in the development of adjuvant chemotherapy with cisplatin or docetaxel for treating ovarian cancer patients.
Highlights
Ovarian cancer is one of the common gynecological cancers, with the highest mortality rate worldwide
Fermented wheat germ extract (FWGE)-induced tumor cell suppression occurred in a dosedependent manner, and the half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) after 48 h of FWGE treatment in SKOV-3 and ES-2 cells were 643.76 μg/mL and 246.11 μg/mL, respectively (Table 1)
SKOV-3 and ES-2 cells exhibited cell shrinkage (SKOV-3) and blebbing (ES-2) features after exposure to FWGE treatment for 48 h (Figure 1(c)). These results suggest that FWGE was able to suppress cell growth and may have induced cell death in human ovarian carcinoma cells
Summary
Ovarian cancer is one of the common gynecological cancers, with the highest mortality rate worldwide. Platinum-based analogs, doxorubicin and taxanes, are commonly recommended in the treatment of advanced ovarian cases, but their low response rates and the undesired side effects as well as the development of drug resistance during the chemotherapeutic period have limited the clinical outcomes of current chemotherapeutic drugs [2, 3]. Because of the limited clinical efficacy of current cancer therapy, many cancer patients seek further assistance or support for complementary and alternative medicines—most of them based on herbal supplements and natural products— to improve their survival rate and quality of life [7,8,9]. FWGE was reported to induce the activation of caspases and the poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose) polymerase (PARP) pathway in human leukemia cells [21], the exact caspase enzyme activated by FWGE remains unknown
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
