These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: β-Elemene induces apoptosis as well as protective autophagy in human non-small-cell lung cancer A549 cells.
    Author: Liu J, Hu XJ, Jin B, Qu XJ, Hou KZ, Liu YP.
    Journal: J Pharm Pharmacol; 2012 Jan; 64(1):146-53. PubMed ID: 22150682.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVES: β-Elemene, a novel traditional Chinese medicine, has been shown to be effective against a wide range of tumours. In this study, the antitumour effect of β-elemene on human non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) A549 cells and the mechanism involved have been investigated. METHODS: Cell viability and apoptosis were measured by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Protein expression was assayed by Western blotting. Autophagy was evaluated under fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. KEY FINDINGS: β-Elemene inhibited the viability of A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner. This suppression of cell viability was due to the induction of apoptosis. Further study showed that β-elemene inhibited the activity of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR/p70S6K1 signalling pathway, and at the same time it triggered a robust autophagy. The autophagy was characterized by the accumulation of punctate LC3 dots in the cytoplasm, morphological changes, and the increased levels of LC3-II as well as Atg5-Atg12 conjugated proteins. Inhibition of autophagy with chlorochine significantly enhanced the antitumour effect of β-elemene. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicated that β-elemene inhibited the activity of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR/p70S6K1 signalling pathway in human NSCLC A549 cells, which resulted in apoptosis as well as protective autophagy. A combination of β-elemene with autophagy inhibitor might be an effective therapeutic option for advanced NSCLC.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]