Abstract
Viscum album var (VAV) also known as mistletoe, has long been categorized as a traditional herbal medicine in Asia. In addition to its immunomodulating activities, mistletoe has also been used in the treatment of chronic hepatic disorders in China and Korea. There are numerous reports showing that VAV possesses anti-cancer effects, however influence on human hepatocarcinoma has never been elucidated. In the present study, hot water extracts of VAV was evaluated for its potential anti-cancer effect in vitro. SK-Hep1 cells were treated with VAV (50-400 ug/ml) for both 24 and 48 hours then cell viability was measured by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8). Flow cytometry analysis was used to measure the proportion of SK-Hep1 in the different stages of cell cycle. RT-PCR and Western blot analysis were conducted to measure expression of cell cycle arrest related genes and proteins respectively. VAV dose dependently inhibited the proliferation of SK-Hep1 cells without any cytotoxicity with normal Chang liver cell (CCL-13). Flow cytometry analysis showed that VAV extract inhibited the cell cycle of SK-Hep1 cells via G1 phase arrest. RT-PCR and Western blot analysis both revealed that cyclin dependent kinase 2 (Cdk2) and cyclin D1 gene expression were significantly down regulated while p21 was upregulated dose dependently by VAV treatment. Combined down regulation of Cdk2, Cyclin D1 and up regulation of p21 can result in cell death. These results indicate that VAV showed evidence of anti-cancer activity through G1 phase cell cycle arrest in SK-Hep1 cells.
Highlights
Cancer is a leading cause of death in both more and less economically developed countries; the burden is expected to grow worldwide due to the growth and aging of the population, in less developed countries, in which about 82% of the world’s population resides (Torre et al, 2015)
SK-Hep1 cells were treated with Viscum album var (VAV) (50-400ug/ml) for both 24 and 48 hours cell viability was measured by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8)
RT-PCR and Western blot analysis both revealed that cyclin dependent kinase 2 (Cdk2) and cyclin D1 gene expression were significantly down regulated while p21 was upregulated dose dependently by VAV treatment
Summary
Cancer is a leading cause of death in both more and less economically developed countries; the burden is expected to grow worldwide due to the growth and aging of the population, in less developed countries, in which about 82% of the world’s population resides (Torre et al, 2015). Some studies have reported that natural products have positive effects against cancer compared with chemotherapy. Natural products prevent cancer in different mechanism of action such as DNA synthesis,cell cycle arrest and apotosis exhibited by the study of Byambaragchaa et al (2014), anti-metastatic effect (Byambaragchaa et al, 2013) and endoplasmic stress (Jung et al, 2014) and preventing tumorigenic chemicals (Chu et al, 2014)
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