Emetine Synergizes with Cisplatin to Enhance Anti-Cancer Efficacy against Lung Cancer Cells

Abstract

Cisplatin is still the primary therapeutic choice for advanced lung cancers without driver mutations. The occurrence of cisplatin resistance is a major clinical problem in lung cancer treatment. The natural extracted agent emetine reportedly has anticancer effects. This study aimed to explore the possible role of emetine in cisplatin resistance. We used cell viability, Western blot, and Wnt reporter assays to show that emetine suppresses proliferation, β-catenin expression, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The synergism of emetine and cisplatin was assessed by constructing isobolograms and calculating combination index (CI) values using the Chou-Talalay method. Emetine effectively synergized with cisplatin to suppress the proliferation of cancer cells. Furthermore, nuclear β-catenin and cancer stem cell-related markers were upregulated in the cisplatin-resistant subpopulation of CL1-0 cells. Emetine enhanced the anticancer efficacy of cisplatin and synergized with cisplatin in the cisplatin-resistant subpopulation of CL1-0 cells. Taken together, these data suggest that emetine could suppress the growth of NSCLC cells through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and contribute to a synergistic effect in combination with cisplatin.

Pyroptosis-related lncRNAs are potential biomarkers for predicting prognoses and immune responses in patients with UCEC

“… 72 Emetine can treat lung cancer in cooperation with cisplatin. 73 The roles of aminoglutethimide and emetine in the treatment of UCEC still need further analysis.…”

Exploring the potential mechanism of emetine against coronavirus disease 2019 combined with lung adenocarcinoma: bioinformatics and molecular simulation analyses

“…Recent studies have shown that emetine exhibited antitumor effects in various cancers through various pathways. For example, emetine sensitizes ovarian and bladder cancer cells to cisplatin [ 12 , 13 ], and emetine exhibits anticancer activity in breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells [ 14 , 15 ]. In addition, emetine can decrease contracting Zika and Ebola viruses by suppressing the replication and invasion of viruses [ 16 ].…”

Epigenetic Silencing of LMX1A Contributes to Cancer Progression in Lung Cancer Cells

“…They were obtained from Professor Yi-Ching Wang (National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan). We cultured cells in Roswell Park Memorial Institute ( RPMI) 1640 medium (Gibco, Gaithersburg, MD, USA) supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum (FBS) and other components as previously described [ 77 ]. All cell cultures were maintained in an incubator containing 5% CO 2 at 37 °C.…”