As a plant medicine, Oxalidaceae has been used to treat various diseases in Korea. However, there is little data on the anti-cancer efficacy of Oxalidaceae, particularly O. obtriangulata. This study aimed to investigate the anti-cancer effect of O. obtriangulata methanol extract (OOE) and its regulatory actions on pancreatic carcinoma. OOE showed anti-proliferative effects and induced cell death in the colony formation and cell viability assays, respectively. The Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) data confirmed that OOE significantly induced cell cycle accumulation at the G2/M phase and apoptotic effects. Additionally, OOE inhibited the activated ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase)/Src (Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src)/STAT3 (signal transducers and activators of transcription 3) pathways including nuclear translocation of STAT3. Furthermore, suppression of Ki67, PARP(Poly ADP-ribose polymerase), caspase-3, P27(Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B), and c-Myc as well as the STAT3 target genes CDK(cyclin-dependent kinase)1, CDK2, Cyclin B1, VEGF-1(vascular endothelial growth factor-1), MMP-9(Matrix metallopeptidase 9), and Survivin by OOE was observed in BxPC3. We speculate that these molecular actions might support an anti-cancer effect of OOE. In this study, we demonstrated that OOE may be a promising anti-cancer material and may serve as a natural therapy and alternative remedy for pancreatic cancer treatment.

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Timosaponin A3 (TA3) was demonstrated as a potent anticancer chemical by several studies. Although the effects of inhibiting growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis in various cancer cells were demonstrated through multiple mechanisms, the pharmacological mechanism of TA3 shown in pancreatic cancer (PC) is insufficient compared to other cancers. In this study, we aimed to explore the key molecular mechanisms underlying the growth inhibitory effects of TA3 using PC cells and a xenograft model. First, from the microarray results, we found that TA3 regulated INSIG-1 and HMGCR in BxPC-3 cells. Furthermore, we showed that inhibition of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) by TA3 reduced the fatty acid synthases FASN and ACC, thereby controlling the growth of BxPC-3 cells. We also tried to find mechanisms involved with SREBP-1, such as Akt, Gsk3β, mTOR, and AMPK, but these were not related to SREBP-1 inhibition by TA3. In the BxPC-3 xenograft model, the TA3 group had more reduced tumor formation and lower toxicity than the gemcitabine group. Interestingly, the level of the fatty acid metabolites palmitate and stearate were significantly reduced in the tumor tissue in the TA3 group. Overall, our study demonstrated that SREBP-1 was a key transcription factor involved in pancreatic cancer growth and it remained a precursor form due to TA3, reducing the adipogenesis and growth in BxPC-3 cells. Our results improve our understanding of novel mechanisms of TA3 for the regulation of lipogenesis and provide a new approach to the prevention and treatment of PC.

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The autophagy-lysosomal degradation system has an important role in maintaining liver homeostasis by removing unnecessary intracellular components. Impaired autophagy has been linked to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which includes hepatitis, steatosis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Thus, gaining an understanding of the mechanisms that regulate autophagy and how autophagy contributes to the development and progression of NAFLD has become the focus of recent studies. Autophagy regulation has been thought to be primarily regulated by cytoplasmic processes; however, recent studies have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) and transcription factors (TFs) also act as key regulators of autophagy by targeting autophagy-related genes. In this review, we summarize the miRNAs and TFs that regulate the autophagy pathway in NAFLD. We further focus on the transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of autophagy and discuss the complex regulatory networks involving these regulators in autophagy. Finally, we highlight the potential of targeting miRNAs and TFs involved in the regulation of autophagy for the treatment of NAFLD.

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