Hydroalcoholic Extract of Levisticum officinale Increases cGMP Signaling Pathway by Down-Regulating PDE5 Expression and Induction of Apoptosis in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate Levisticum officinale hydroalcoholic extract (LOHE) effect on both cGMP signaling pathway and phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) gene expression pattern and to examine the role of LOHE in apoptosis induction of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 cell lines. Methods: The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of LOHE was examined in both cell lines using the MTT assay. Using IC50 values of LOHE on both cells, the type of cell death was detected by flowcytometric analysis. The values of PDE5 and cGMP were evaluated by real-time PCR and ELISA methods, respectively. Results: The IC50 values were measured as 150 μg/ml for MDA-MB-468 and 200 μg/ml for MCF-7. At 12 hour of treatment, a significant decrease in the PDE5 expression and maximum increase in the amount of intracellular cGMP were observed (p < 0.05). However, these effects were more noticeable in MDA-MB-468 triple-negative cells. Conclusion: Our data suggest that LOHE extract could be a potential source for new strategies towards targeting both PDE5 and cGMP signaling pathways.

Evidence of the effect of essential oils on oral squamous cell carcinoma tumor cell viability

“…Thymus vulgaris, known for inhibiting cell viability in breast, prostate, and lung cancer (1% to 4% range), especially through the action of thymol, has exhibited antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing effects in colorectal cancer [29,30] . Likewise, Levisticum officinale has been explored in breast cancer studies, revealing its apoptosisinducing effects across various cell lines and its impact on mRNA levels (specifically decreasing the ZNF703 gene) and the cGMP signaling pathway, with observed effects on leukemia as well [31,32] . The study by Fekrazad et al [33] provided insights into the adjunctive use of essential oils in conventional therapy for oral cancer.…”