St. John’s Wort (SJW) has been used as an estrogen agonist in the systems affected by menopause. Also, hypericin, a bioactive compound of SJW, has been used as a photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy. In the present study, we investigate the anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of SJW to demonstrate the chemo-preventive effect in human breast cancer cells. MCF-7 cells were cultured with DMSO or various concentrations of SJW ethanol extract (SJWE). Cell viability, proliferation, apoptosis, the expression of proteins involved in cell growth and apoptosis, and caspase-3/7 activity were examined. SJWE dose-dependently suppressed cell growth and induced apoptosis of MCF-7 cells. Mechanistically, SJWE enhanced the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and decreased the expression of p-mammalian target of rapamycin (p-mTOR) and p-eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E)-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1). Also, SJWE inhibited the phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt) and showed increases in the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and Bad with decreases in the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins including B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), B-cell lymphoma-extra large (Bcl-xL), and p-Bcl-2-associated death promoter (p-Bad). SJWE at 50 μg/mL showed markedly enhanced caspase-7 activation. Taken together, our results provide evidence that SJWE shows anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects via inhibition of AMPK/mTOR and activation of a mitochondrial pathway. Therefore, SJWE can be used as a chemo-preventive agent without photo-activation.
Obesity occurs when a person's calorie intake exceeds the amount of energy burns, which may lead to pathologic growth of adipocytes and the accumulation of fat in the tissues. In this study, the effect and mechanism of pear pomace extracts on 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation and apoptosis of mature adipocytes were investigated. The effects of pear pomace extract on cell viability and the anti-adipogenic and proapoptotic effects were investigated via MTT assay, Oil red O staining, western blot analysis and apoptosis assay. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were stimulated with DMEM containing 10% FBS, 0.5 mM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), 5 µg/ml insulin and 1 µM dexamethasone for differentiation to adipocytes. 3T3-L1 cells were cultured with PBS or water extract of pear pomace. Water extract of pear pomace effectively inhibited lipid accumulations and expressions of PPAR-γ and C/EBPα in 3T3-L1 cells. It also increased expression of p-AMPK and decreased the expression of SREBP-1c and FAS in 3T3-L1 cells. The induction of apoptosis was observed in 3T3-L1 cells treated with pear pomace. These results indicate that pear pomace water extract inhibits adipogenesis and induces apoptosis of adipocytes and thus can be used as a potential therapeutic substance as part of prevention or treatment strategy for obesity.
The present study is to evaluate the anti-obesity effects of Eriobotrya japonica (EJ), Nelumbo nucifera (NN), and their mixture (MIX, 1:1 ratio) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and high-fat diet-induced obese mice. The treatment of EJ, NN, and MIX in 3T3-L1 adipocytes effectively inhibited lipid accumulation, significantly decreased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP1c), and adipocyte lipid-binding protein (aP2), and significantly increased phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Moreover, oral treatment of MIX showed stronger effects than individual treatment. C57BL/6J mice (6 week old) were divided into two groups; low fat diet (LFD) containing 10% calories from fat and high fat diet (HFD) containing 60% calories from fat. The HFD groups were further divided into five subgroups; treated with distilled water (HFD), treated with 400 mg/kg EJ (EJ400), treated with 400 mg/kg NN (NN400), treated with 200 mg/kg MIX (MIX200), and treated with 400 mg/kg MIX (MIX400) during 13 weeks. In our results, the administration of EJ, NN, and MIX significantly decreased body weight (BW), fat weight, liver weight, hepatic triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC), lipid droplets in the liver, food efficacy ratio, and the plasma TG, TC, glucose, insulin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels in a dose-dependent manner, and MIX treatment showed stronger effect than their individual treatments. Similarly, MIX treatment decreased the expression of PPARγ, SREBP-1c, FAS, and ACC more strongly in the adipose tissue than single treatments. In conclusion, the MIX of EJ and NN extract may strongly regulate BW gain than EJ or NN alone, and its anti-obesity effect is associated with the control of lipid metabolism, including adipogenesis and lipogenesis.
We examined the inhibitory effects of loquat methanol extract on the adhesion, migration, invasion and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activities of MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell line. Cells were cultured with DMSO or with 10, 25, or 50 µg/ml of loquat methanol extract. Both leaf and seed extracts significantly inhibited growth of MDA-MB-231 cells in a dose-dependent manner, although leaf extract was more effective. Adhesion and migration were significantly inhibited by loquat extracts in a dose-dependent manner. Loquat extract also inhibited the invasion of breast cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner and leaf extract was more effective than seed extract. MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities were also inhibited by loquat extract. Our results indicate that methanol extracts of loquat inhibit the adhesion, migration and invasion of human breast cancer cells partially through the inhibition of MMP activity and leaf extract has more anti-metastatic effects in cell based assay than seed extract. Clinical application of loquat extract as a potent chemopreventive agent may be helpful in limiting breast cancer invasion and metastasis.
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