Dryopteris crassirhizoma has anti-cancer effects through both extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways and G0/G1 phase arrest in human prostate cancer cells

Aim of the study

The inhibitory effect of Dryopteris crassirhizoma on the proliferation of human metastatic prostate PC3-MM2 cells and the mechanism of action were examined to identify its anti-cancer properties. The effect of the extract on cell cycle progression and its combined cytotoxic effect with tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) on PC3-MM2 cells were also investigated.

Materials and methods

The anti-proliferative effects of Dryopteris crassirhizoma were examined by culturing PC3-MM2 cells in the presence or absence of various concentrations of Dryopteris crassirhizoma extract, and the inhibitory effects on cell proliferation were determined by Cell Counting Kit (CCK)-8 analysis. The quantities of apoptosis-inducing proteins were measured by western blotting analysis. Cell cycle progression was analyzed by PI staining using flow cytometry.

Results

Dryopteris crassirhizoma (50 and 100 μg/ml) inhibited markedly the proliferation of PC-3 and PC3-MM2 cells without cytotoxicity to normal (spleen) cells from BALB/C mice. Dryopteris crassirhizoma (100 μg/ml) effectively induced apoptosis through the activation of caspase-3, -8, -9, bid, and PARP in PC3-MM2 cells. The cells exposed to Dryopteris crassirhizoma increased significantly the accumulation of the DNA contents in the G0/G1 phase and sub-G1 phase in contrast to the control. The combined cytotoxic effects of Dryopteris crassirhizoma and TRAIL induced the increased activity of 29% in contrast to the sum of the inhibitory effects of each agent alone.

Conclusions

Dryopteris crassirhizoma has anti-cancer properties by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis through the extrinsic and intrinsic pathway in PC3-MM2 cells. The extract also showed a combined effect with TRAIL on the inhibition of proliferation in the cells. These findings suggest that possibly its extract could be used for treating androgen-independent prostate cancer with minimal side effects.