Extract of Coptidis rhizoma induces cytochrome-c dependent apoptosis in immortalized and malignant human oral keratinocytes

• Published in: Phytotherapy research Vol. 20; no. 9; pp. 773 - 779
• Main Authors: Lee, Hwa-Jeong, Son, Dae-Hyung, Lee, Sun-Kyung, Lee, Jun, Jun, Chang-Duk, Jeon, Byung-Hun, Lee, Suk-Keun, Kim, Eun-Cheol
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-09-2006; Wiley
• Subjects: anticancer effects; apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; Blotting, Western; C. rhizoma; Cell Culture Techniques; Cell Cycle - drug effects; Cell Line; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Cytochromes c - drug effects; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - pharmacology; General pharmacology; Humans; immortalized keratinocyte; Keratinocytes - drug effects; Medical sciences; oral cancer; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Asia; China; Antineoplastic agent; Human; Pharmacognosy; Ranunculaceae; Oral administration; Extract; Malignant tumor; C. rhizoma; Medicinal plant; anticancer effects; Folk medicine; Cell death; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Plant origin; Rhizome; Keratinocyte; Spermatophyta; Skin; immortalized keratinocyte; oral cancer; Apoptosis; Below ground plant part
• ISSN: 0951-418X; 1099-1573
• DOI: 10.1002/ptr.1956

Coptidis rhizoma (C. rhizoma) had been demonstrated as an antioxidant and anticancer agent, however, its antioral cancer mechanism still remains unclear. Using water extracts of C. rhizoma, growth and apoptosis‐related experiments for the treatment of multi‐stage of oral cancer were carried out on immortalized human oral keratinocytes (IHOK), primary oral cancer cells (HN4), metastatic oral cancer cells (HN12) and human skin keratinocytes (HaCaT) by MTT assay, three‐dimensional (3‐D) raft cultures, western blotting, cell cycle analysis, nuclear staining and cytochrome c expression related to the apoptosis signaling pathway. C. rhizoma inhibited the proliferation of immortalized and malignant oral keratinocytes in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner. In 3‐D organotypic culture, C. rhizoma‐treated cells showed less maturation than the control cells, displaying low surface keratinization and decreased epithelial thickness. The major mechanism of growth inhibition by C. rhizoma appears to be the induction of apoptosis, which is supported by the results of the cell cycle analysis, FITC‐annexin V staining, DNA fragmentation assay and DAPI staining. The induction of apoptosis by C. rhizoma was more prominent in immortalized keratinocytes than in malignant oral keratinocytes. Cytochrome‐c release from mitochondria, accompanied by the activation of caspase‐3, was observed in C. rhizoma‐treated IHOK and oral cancer cells. These results suggest that C. rhizoma has apoptotic effects in immortalized and malignant oral keratinocytes via the mitochondrial signaling pathway. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.