Abstract
Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA), an active phytochemical in the dried root of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, has shown an antiproliferative activity on various human cancer cell lines including nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. However, the effects of Tan IIA on human oral cancer cells are still unknown. This study aimed to investigate the antiproliferative effects of Tan IIA on human oral cancer KB cells and explored the possible underlying mechanism. Treatment of KB cells with Tan IIA suppressed cell proliferation/viability and induced cell death in a dose-dependent manner through sulforhodamine B colorimetric assay. Observation of cell morphology revealed the involvement of apoptosis in the Tan IIA-induced growth inhibition on KB cells. Cell cycle analysis showed a cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase on Tan IIA-treated cells. The dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential observed by flow cytometry and the expression of activated caspases with the cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase under immunoblotting analysis indicated that Tan IIA-induced apoptosis in KB cells was mediated through the mitochondria-dependent caspase pathway. These observations suggested that Tan IIA could be a potential anticancer agent for oral cancer.
Highlights
The incidence of oral cancer increases annually with the epidemiology of oral and oropharyngeal cancer, grouped together, as the sixth most common cancer worldwide [1]
More than 90% of cells were killed with 25 μg/mL of Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) administration for 72 hours
As the natural phytochemicals have been increasingly employed as chemotherapy agents, we examined the cytotoxic effect of Tan IIA on KB cells and assessed the possible application of this ancient herbal medicine as a novel agent for treatment of oral cancer
Summary
The incidence of oral cancer increases annually with the epidemiology of oral and oropharyngeal cancer, grouped together, as the sixth most common cancer worldwide [1]. It is estimated that about 275000∼300000 people will be diagnosed with oral cancer annually [1, 2]. The management of oral cancer is complex and challenging. The compounds extracted from the natural sources have been introduced into the chemotherapy of head and neck cancers. The ingredient in the Pacific yew tree, and docetaxel, an extract of European yew tree, are cytotoxic agents that interfere with the microtubule structure and cause the pause of cell division [9, 10]. Paclitaxel and docetaxel have been used as chemotherapy agents to treat squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck in selected patients with survival benefits in clinical practice [11,12,13]
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