Potential use of artichoke on melanoma treatment

Background Melanoma is the most lethal malignancy in skin cancers. About 97,610 new cases of melanoma are projected to occur in the US in 2023. Artichoke is a very popular plant widely consumed in the US due to its nutrition. In recent years, it has been shown that artichoke shows powerful anti-cancer effects on cancers such as breast cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer and leukemia. However, there is little known about its effect on melanoma. This study was designed to investigate if artichoke extract (AE) has any direct effect on the growth of melanoma. Methods Clonogenic survival assay, cell proliferation, and caspase-3 activity kits were used to evaluate the effects AE on cell survival, proliferation, and apoptosis of the widely-studied melanoma cell line HTB-72. We further investigated the possible molecular mechanisms using RT-PCR and immunohistochemical staining. Results The percentage of colonies of HTB-72 melanoma cells decreased significantly after treated with AE. This was paralleled with the decrease in the optic density (OD) value of cancer cells after treated with AE. This was further supported by the decreased expression of PCNA mRNA after treated with AE. Furthermore, the cellular caspase-3 activity increased after treated with AE. The anti-proliferative effect of AE on melanoma cells correlated with increased p21, p27 and decreased cdk4. The pro-apoptotic effect of AE on melanoma cells correlated with decreased survivin. Conclusions Artichoke inhibits growth of melanoma by inhibition of proliferation and promotion of apoptosis. Such a study might be helpful to develop a new promising treatment for melanoma.