Abstract:
Pancreatic cancer is a highly aggressive malignancy and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Moreover, the incidence and mortality rates for pancreatic cancer are projected to keep increasing. A major challenge in the treatment of pancreatic cancer is the lack of effective screening approaches, which contributes to its poor prognosis, indicating the need for new treatment regimens and alternative therapies, such as herbal medicine. The medicinal plant A. strigosa, which is widely distributed in the Eastern Mediterranean region, is a short prickly plant from the Boraginaceae family that has been widely used in traditional medicine for treating various diseases. Nevertheless, its effect on human pancreatic cancer remains poorly investigated. In the present study, we screened the phytochemical content of Anchusa strigosa aqueous extracts obtained by maceration and ultrasound-assisted methods (ASM and ASU, respectively) and evaluated their antioxidant effects. We also investigated their anticancer effects and possible underlying mechanisms. The results show that both extracts were rich in bioactive molecules, with slight differences in their composition. Both extracts exhibited remarkable antioxidant potential and potent radical-scavenging activity in vitro. Additionally, non-cytotoxic concentrations of both extracts attenuated cell proliferation in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, which was associated with a decrease in the proliferation marker Ki67 and an induction of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Furthermore, the extracts increased the aggregation of pancreatic cancer cells and reduced their migratory potential, with a concomitant downregulation of integrin β1. Finally, we showed that the ASM extract caused a significant decrease in the levels of COX-2, an enzyme that has been linked to inflammation, carcinogenesis, tumor progression, and metastasis. Taken together, our findings provide evidence that A. strigosa extracts, particularly the extract obtained using the maceration method, have a potential anticancer effect and may represent a new resource for the design of novel drugs against pancreatic cancer.
摘要:
胰腺癌是一种高度侵袭性的恶性肿瘤,是全球癌症相关死亡的主要原因。此外,胰腺癌的发病率和死亡率预计将继续上升.胰腺癌治疗的主要挑战是缺乏有效的筛查方法,这导致其预后不良,表明需要新的治疗方案和替代疗法,如草药。药用植物A.strigosa,它广泛分布在东地中海地区,是Boraginaceae家族中的一种短的多刺植物,已被广泛用于治疗各种疾病的传统医学。然而,其对人类胰腺癌的影响研究甚少。在本研究中,我们筛选了通过浸渍和超声辅助方法(ASM和ASU,分别)并评估了它们的抗氧化作用。我们还研究了它们的抗癌作用和可能的潜在机制。结果表明,两种提取物都富含生物活性分子,它们的组成略有不同。两种提取物在体外均具有显着的抗氧化潜力和有效的自由基清除活性。此外,两种提取物的非细胞毒性浓度以时间和浓度依赖性方式减弱细胞增殖,这与增殖标志物Ki67的减少和内在凋亡途径的诱导有关。此外,提取物增加了胰腺癌细胞的聚集并降低了它们的迁移潜力,伴随着整合素β1的下调。最后,我们发现ASM提取物导致COX-2的水平显着降低,COX-2是一种与炎症有关的酶,致癌作用,肿瘤进展,和转移。一起来看,我们的发现提供了证据,特别是使用浸渍法获得的提取物,具有潜在的抗癌作用,并可能代表设计抗胰腺癌新药的新资源。