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Cardenolides with special chemical structures have been considered as effective anti-cancer drugs in clinic trials. Strophalloside is a cardenolide we recently isolated from Antiaris toxicaria obtained from Hainan, China. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible anticancer effects induced by strophalloside and the underlying molecular mechanism. Gastric carcinoma SGC-7901 cells were treated with strophalloside at various concentrations for different times, and resulting cell viability was determined by the MTT assay, and the motility and invasion of tumor cells were assessed by the Transwell chamber assay. Apoptosis were measured by Annexin V-FITC/PI and Hoechst staining. The changes of mitochondrial transmembrane potential were examined by a JC-1 kit. The expressions of pro-apoptotic protein cytochrome c, caspase-3 and caspase-9 were detected by western blotting analysis. The results showed that strophalloside was capable of reducing cell viability, inhibiting cell growth, and suppressing cell migration and invasion in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Mitochondrial membrane potential declined and the concentration of cytochrome c increased in cytoplasm and caspase-3 and caspase-9 were cleaved into activated states, suggesting that cytochrome c was released from the mitochondrion to cytoplasm and finally activated the caspase-dependent apoptosis pathway. Our results indicate that strophalloside is a potential anticancer drug.

Metformin is commonly used to treat type II diabetes, although it may also reduce the risk of cancer and improve the associated prognosis. However, its mode of action in cancer remains unclear. The present study evaluated the effects of metformin on lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells and identified molecular mechanisms of metformin activity. The A549 cells were treated with metformin at different concentrations and cell viability was assayed by using an MTT assay. The cell cycle and the apoptosis rate were assayed by flow cytometry. Nude mice were transplanted with A549 cells and the tumor growth inhibition rate was detected. Once the A549 cells had been treated with 20 mM metformin for 48 h, the cell cycle was arrested in the G0/Gl phase and the apoptosis rate was 20.57±3.16%. The expression of the B-cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2 and Bcl-extra large proteins was downregulated following metformin treatment, while Bax protein expression was significantly increased. Tumor size in the high-dose metformin and cisplatin plus metformin groups was significantly smaller, and the inhibition rates were 41.3 and 72.9%, respectively, compared with the control group. These results indicated that metformin displays anticancer activity against lung adenocarcinoma by causing G1 arrest of the cell cycle and subsequent cell apoptosis through the mitochondria-dependent pathway in A549 cells. Furthermore, it was found that metformin dramatically inhibited lung adenocarcinoma tumor growth in vivo. These data suggest that metformin may become a potential cytotoxic drug in the prevention and treatment of lung adenocarcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metformin is commonly used to treat type II diabetes, although it may also reduce the risk of cancer and improve the associated prognosis. However, its mode of action in cancer remains unclear. The present study evaluated the effects of metformin on lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells and identified molecular mechanisms of metformin activity. The A549 cells were treated with metformin at different concentrations and cell viability was assayed by using an MTT assay. The cell cycle and the apoptosis rate were assayed by flow cytometry. Nude mice were transplanted with A549 cells and the tumor growth inhibition rate was detected. Once the A549 cells had been treated with 20 mM metformin for 48 h, the cell cycle was arrested in the G 0 /G l phase and the apoptosis rate was 20.57±3.16%. The expression of the B-cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2 and Bcl-extra large proteins was downregulated following metformin treatment, while Bax protein expression was significantly increased. Tumor size in the high-dose metformin and cisplatin plus metformin groups was significantly smaller, and the inhibition rates were 41.3 and 72.9%, respectively, compared with the control group. These results indicated that metformin displays anticancer activity against lung adenocarcinoma by causing G 1 arrest of the cell cycle and subsequent cell apoptosis through the mitochondria-dependent pathway in A549 cells. Furthermore, it was found that metformin dramatically inhibited lung adenocarcinoma tumor growth in vivo . These data suggest that metformin may become a potential cytotoxic drug in the prevention and treatment of lung adenocarcinoma.