Cytisine exerts anti-tumour effects on lung cancer cells by modulating reactive oxygen species-mediated signalling pathways

Cytisine is a natural product isolated from plants and is a member of the quinolizidine alkaloid family. This study aims to investigate the effect of cytisine in human lung cancer. Cell viability was determined using the CCK-8 assay, and the results showed that cytisine inhibited the growth of lung...

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Main Authors: Wan-Ting Xu, Tian-Zhu Li, Shu-Mei Li, Cheng Wang, Hao Wang, Ying-Hua Luo, Xian-Ji Piao, Jia-Ru Wang, Yu Zhang, Tong Zhang, Hui Xue, Long-Kui Cao, Cheng-Hao Jin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2020-01-01
Series:Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21691401.2019.1699813
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Summary:Cytisine is a natural product isolated from plants and is a member of the quinolizidine alkaloid family. This study aims to investigate the effect of cytisine in human lung cancer. Cell viability was determined using the CCK-8 assay, and the results showed that cytisine inhibited the growth of lung cancer cell lines. The apoptotic effects were evaluated using flow cytometry, and the results showed that cytisine induced mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis through loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential; increased expression of BAD, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved-PARP; and decreased expression levels of Bcl-2, pro-caspase-3, and pro-PARP. In addition, cytisine caused G2/M phase cell cycle arrest that was associated with inhibiting the AKT signalling pathway. During apoptosis, cytisine increased the phosphorylation levels of JNK, p38, and I-κB, and decreased the phosphorylation levels of ERK, STAT3, and NF-κB. Furthermore, cytisine treatment led to the generation of ROS, and the NAC attenuated cytisine-induced apoptosis. In vivo, cytisine administration significantly inhibited the lung cancer cell xenograft tumorigenesis. In conclusion, cytisine plays a critical role in suppressing the carcinogenesis of lung cancer cells through cell cycle arrest and induction of mitochondria-mediated apoptosis, suggesting that it may be a promising candidate for the treatment of human lung cancer.
ISSN:2169-1401
2169-141X