Bitter Melon Reduces Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Growth by Targeting c-Met Signaling

Rajamoorthi, Ananthi; Shrivastava, Shubham; Steele, Robert; Nerurkar, Pratibha V.; González, Juan Guillermo; Crawford, Susan E.; Varvares, Mark A.; Ray, Ratna B.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0078006

Cited by 33 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Western blot analysis of PCNA was further confirmed that PCNA expression was indeed inhibited in BME-fed mice as compared with control mice (Figure 2, panel B), suggesting impairment of cell proliferation. c-Myc expression was inhibited by BME in a HNSCC xenograft model [3]. Further, we observed that the expression of c-Myc was also significantly decreased in BME-fed tumor as compared to control animals (Figure 2, panel C).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…We have previously reported that BME feeding regress tumor growth in Cal27 xenograft model [3], although the effect of BME on HNSCC in presence of intact immune system remains unknown. Here, we examined the effect of BME in suppression of the tumor growth in the syngeneic mouse model of head and neck cancer.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mice were divided into two groups. Mice received 100 μl water (control group) or 100 μl BME by oral gavage (experimental group) 5 days/week for the entire experimental timeframe as described previously [3, 10]. The dose of BME is determined based on our previous experiences [3, 10].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bitter melon ( Momordica charantia ) is extensively cultivated in Asia, Africa, and South America, and widely used in folk medicines to treat diabetes [1]. We have previously reported that BME inhibits HNSCC cell proliferation through modulation in c-Met signaling in in vitro studies as well as in xenograft model of HNSCC [3]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Immunomodulatory role of bitter melon extract in inhibition of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma growth

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer and leading cause of cancer related mortality worldwide. Despite the advancement in treatment procedures the overall survival rate of patients has not considerably enhanced in the past few decades. Therefore, new strategies to achieve a favorable response for the improvement in the prognosis of HNSCC are urgently needed. In this study, we examined the role of bitter melon extract (BME) in HNSCC tumor microenvironment. Mouse head and neck cancer (SCCVII) cells were subcutaneously injected into the flanks of syngeneic mice. We observed that oral gavage of BME significantly inhibits the tumor growth in mice as compared to control group. Further study suggested that BME inhibits cell proliferation as evident from low expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and c-Myc in the tumors of BME fed mice as compared to that of control group. We next investigated the role of BME as an immunomodulator in HNSCC model. Forkhead box protein P3+ (FoxP3+) T cells suppress tumor immunity. Our data suggested that BME treatment decreases the infiltrating regulatory T (Treg) cells by inhibiting FoxP3+ populations in the tumors and in spleens. Additionally, BME treatment reduces Th17 cell population in the tumor. However, BME treatment did not alter Th1 and Th2 cell populations. Together, our findings offer a new insight into how bitter melon extract inhibits head and neck tumor growth by modulating cell proliferation and Treg populations, with implications for how to control tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and tumor progression.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 68%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Immunomodulatory role of bitter melon extract in inhibition of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma growth

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The whole bitter melon ( M. charantia ) fruit is now also extensively evaluated for its anti-cancer efficacy against various malignancies including our own work in pancreatic cancer [2,12–17,47,79–92]. Table 1 summarizes these anti-cancer effects.…”

Section: Biological Efficacy Of Whole Bitter Melon (M Charantia) mentioning

confidence: 99%

Promise of bitter melon ( Momordica charantia ) bioactives in cancer prevention and therapy

Raina

Kumar

Agarwal

2016

Seminars in Cancer Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recently, there is a paradigm shift that the whole food-derived components are not ‘idle bystanders’ but actively participate in modulating aberrant metabolic and signaling pathways in both healthy and diseased individuals. One such whole food from Cucurbitaceae family is ‘bitter melon’ (Momordica charantia, also called bitter gourd, balsam apple, etc.), which has gained an enormous attention in recent years as an alternative medicine in developed countries. The increased focus on bitter melon consumption could in part be due to several recent pre-clinical efficacy studies demonstrating bitter melon potential to target obesity/type II diabetes-associated metabolic aberrations as well as its pre-clinical anti-cancer efficacy against various malignancies. The bioassay-guided fractionations have also classified the bitter melon chemical constituents based on their anti-diabetic or cytotoxic effects. Thus, by definition, these bitter melon constituents are at cross roads on the bioactivity parameters; they either have selective efficacy for correcting metabolic aberrations or targeting cancer cells, or have beneficial effects in both conditions. However, given the vast, though dispersed, literature reports on the bioactivity and beneficial attributes of bitter melon constituents, a comprehensive review on the bitter melon components and the overlapping beneficial attributes is lacking; our review attempts to fulfill these unmet needs. Importantly, the recent realization that there are common risk factors associated with obesity/type II diabetes-associated metabolic aberrations and cancer, this timely review focuses on the dual efficacy of bitter melon against the risk factors associated with both diseases that could potentially impact the course of malignancy to advanced stages. Furthermore, this review also addresses a significant gap in our knowledge regarding the bitter melon drug-drug interactions which can be predicted from the available reports on bitter melon effects on metabolism enzymes and drug transporters. This has important implications, given that a large proportion of individuals, taking bitter melon based supplements/phytochemical extracts/food based home-remedies, are also likely to be taking conventional therapeutic drugs at the same time. Accordingly, the comprehensively reviewed information here could be prudently translated to the clinical implications associated with any potential concerns regarding bitter melon consumption by cancer patients.

show abstract

Dietary plants for oral cancer prevention and therapy: A review of preclinical and clinical studies

Bishayee,

Penn,

Bhandari

et al. 2024

Phytotherapy Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Oral cancer is a disease with high mortality and rising incidence worldwide. Although fragmentary literature on the anti‐oral cancer effects of plant products has been published, a comprehensive analysis is lacking. In this work, a critical and comprehensive evaluation of oral cancer preventative or therapeutic effects of dietary plants was conducted. An exhaustive analysis of available data supports that numerous dietary plants exert anticancer effects, including suppression of cell proliferation, viability, autophagy, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis while promoting cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Plant extracts and products target several cellular mechanisms, such as the reversal of epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition and the promotion of oxidative stress and mitochondrial membrane dysfunction by modulation of various signaling pathways. These agents were also found to regulate cellular growth signaling pathways by action on extracellular signal‐regulated kinase and mitogen‐activated protein kinase, inflammation via modulation of cyclooxygenase (COX)‐1, COX‐2, and nuclear factor‐κB p65, and metastasis through influence of cadherins and matrix metalloproteinases. In vivo studies support these findings and demonstrate a decrease in tumor burden, incidence, and hyperplastic and dysplastic changes. Clinical studies also showed decreased oral cancer risk. However, high‐quality studies should be conducted to establish the clinical efficacy of these plants. Overall, our study supports the use of dietary plants, especially garlic, green tea, longan, peppermint, purple carrot, saffron, tomato, and turmeric, for oral cancer prevention and intervention. However, further research is required before clinical application of this strategy.

show abstract

Bitter Melon Reduces Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Growth by Targeting c-Met Signaling

Cited by 33 publications

References 25 publications

Immunomodulatory role of bitter melon extract in inhibition of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma growth

Immunomodulatory role of bitter melon extract in inhibition of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma growth

Promise of bitter melon ( Momordica charantia ) bioactives in cancer prevention and therapy

Dietary plants for oral cancer prevention and therapy: A review of preclinical and clinical studies

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About