Greater Burdock (Arctium lappa) and Cancer (anticancer research): evidence and sources

Neddylation is a type of posttranslational protein modification that has been observed to be overactivated in various cancers. UBC12 is one of two key E2 enzymes in the neddylation pathway. Reports indicate that UBC12 deficiency may suppress lung cancer cells, such that UBC12 could play an important role in tumor progression. However, systematic studies regarding the expression profile of UBC12 in cancers and its relationship to cancer prognosis are lacking. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed UBC12 expression in diverse cancer types and found that UBC12 is markedly overexpressed in most cancers (17/21), a symptom that negatively correlates with the survival rates of cancer patients, including gastric cancer. These results demonstrate the suitability of UBC12 as a potential target for cancer treatment. Currently, no effective inhibitor targeting UBC12 has been discovered. We screened a natural product library and found, for the first time, that arctigenin has been shown to significantly inhibit UBC12 enzyme activity and cullin neddylation. The inhibition of UBC12 enzyme activity was newly found to contribute to the effects of arctigenin on suppressing the malignant phenotypes of cancer cells. Furthermore, we performed proteomics analysis and found that arctigenin intervened with cullin downstream signaling pathways and substrates, such as the tumor suppressor PDCD4. In summary, these results demonstrate the importance of UBC12 as a potential therapeutic target for cancer treatment, and, for the first time, the suitability of arctigenin as a potential compound targeting UBC12 enzyme activity. Thus, these findings provide a new strategy for inhibiting neddylation-overactivated cancers.

Invasive breast cancer is highly regulated by tumor-derived cytokines in tumor microenvironment. The development of drugs that specifically target cytokines are promising in breast cancer treatment. In this study, we reported that arctigenin, a bioactive compound from Arctium lappa L., could decrease tumor-promoting cytokines GM-CSF, MMP-3, MMP-9 and TSLP in breast cancer cells. Arctigenin not only inhibited the proliferation, but also the invasion and stemness of breast cancer cells via decreasing GM-CSF and TSLP. Mechanistically, arctigenin decreased the promoter activities of GM-CSF and TSLP via reducing the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 which is crucial for the transcription of GM-CSF and TSLP. Furthermore, arctigenin-induced depletion of GM-CSF and TSLP inhibited STAT3 phosphorylation and β-catenin signaling resulting in decreased proliferation, invasion and stemness of breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanism by which tumor-promoting cytokines regulate breast cancer progression and suggest that arctigenin is a promising candidate for cytokine-targeted breast cancer therapy.

Several reports have described the anti-cancer activity of arctigenin, a lignan extracted from Arctium lappa L. Here, we investigated the effect of arctigenin (ATG) on doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cell death using MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. The results showed that DOX-induced cell death was enhanced by ATG/DOX co-treatment in a concentration-dependent manner and that this was associated with increased DOX uptake and the suppression of multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1) gene expression in MDA-MB-231 cells. ATG enhanced DOX-induced DNA damage and decreased the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and the expressions of RAD51 and survivin. Cell death caused by ATG/DOX co-treatment was mediated by the nuclear translocation of apoptosis inducing factor (AIF), reductions in cellular and mitochondrial Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, and increases in mitochondrial BAX levels. However, caspase-3 and -7 did not participate in DOX/ATG-induced cell death. We also found that DOX/ATG-induced cell death was linked with activation of the p38 signaling pathway and suppressions of the phosphorylations and expressions of Akt and c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Taken together, these results show that ATG enhances the cytotoxic activity of DOX in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells by inducing prolonged p21 expression and p38-mediated AIF-dependent cell death. In conclusion, our findings suggest that ATG might alleviate the side effects and improve the therapeutic efficacy of DOX.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is considered growing risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma development in high-income countries. Diet- and chemically induced rodent models have been applied for the translational study of NASH-associated hepatocarcinogenesis due to their morphological and molecular similarities to the corresponding human disease. Arctium lappa L. (burdock) root tea has been extensively consumed in Traditional Chinese Medicine due to its potential therapeutic properties. Indeed, the bioactive compounds of A. lappa root, as the polyphenols, have already showed antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in different in vivo and in vitro bioassays. In this study, we investigated whether burdock root ethanolic extract (BRE) administration attenuates NASH-associated hepatocarcinogenesis. Eight-week-old male Wistar rats received choline-deficient high-fat diet for 8 weeks and multiple thioacetamide doses for 4 weeks in order to induce NASH and preneoplastic glutathione-S-transferase pi (GST-P) + preneoplastic foci. Subsequently, rats were treated with BRE (100 or 200 mg/kg body weight) or vehicle by oral gavage for 2 weeks. BRE displayed high levels of chlorogenic and caffeic acids and BRE administration reduced total fatty acid and lipid hydroperoxide levels, while increasing the activities of antioxidant superoxide dismutase and catalase enzymes in the liver. Furthermore, burdock intervention diminished the size of GST-P + remodeling preneoplastic lesions (PNLs) and displayed a trend on reducing hepatocyte proliferation (Ki-67) inside them. These findings suggest that short-term exposure to BRE alleviated remodeling PNL development in NASH-associated hepatocarcinogenesis.

Background: Arctium lappa has been used as popular medicinal herb and health supplement in Chinese societies. Bioactive components from A. lappa have attracted the attention of researchers due to their promising therapeutic effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of A. lappa hydroalcoholic extract (Alhe) during different models of inflammation, in vivo. Methods: The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated through the air pouch model. For this, mice received an inflammatory stimulus with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and were later injected with Alhe. To assess anti-tumoral activity, the animals were inoculated with B16F10 cells and injected with Alhe every 5 days, along the course of 30 days. Controls were submitted to the same conditions and injected with the vehicle. Peritoneal or air pouch fluids were collected to evaluate leukocyte counting or cellular activation via quantification of cytokines and nitric oxide. Results: Alhe injection reduced the neutrophil influx and production of inflammatory mediators in inflammatory foci after LPS or tumor challenges. Furthermore, Alhe injection reduced tumor growth and enhanced mice survival. Conclusions: Collectively, these data suggest that Alhe regulates immune cell migration and activation, which correlates with favorable outcome in mouse models of acute inflammation and melanoma progression.

Purpose In the current study the antiproliferative effect of arctigenin, plant lignin, was evaluated on human colon cancer cell line HT-29. Furthermore, attempts were made to explore the signaling mechanism which may be responsible for its effect. Methods Cell growth inhibition was assessed by MTT and LDH assays. Flow cytometric analysis was performed to determine cell arrest in the cell cycle phase and apoptosis. Furthermore, to confirm the apoptotic activity of arctigenin, caspase-9 and -3 activities analysis was performed. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) were investigated to determine their role in inducing apoptosis in arctigenin-treated HT-29 colon cancer cell line. Results MTT and LDH results demonstrated significant cell growth inhibitory effect of arctigenin on HT-29 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, increase in cell number arrested at G2/M phase was observed in flow cytometric analysis upon arctigenin treatment. In addition, arctigenin increased the apoptotic ratio in a dose-dependent manner. The involvement of intrinsic apoptotic pathway was indicated by the activation of caspase-9 and -3. Moreover, increased ROS production, activation of p38 MAPK and changes in mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) also revealed the role of intrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway in cell growth inhibition after arctigenin exposure. Conclusion Arctigenin induces apoptosis in HT-29 colon cancer cells by regulating ROS and p38 MAPK pathways.