Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen Stapf sprout extract induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human cervical carcinoma cells
Son, E.S., Kim, SH., Kim, Y.O. et al · BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies · 2019 November 15
DOI 10.1186/s12906-019-2725-z
Objective
To investigate the activity of Coix lacryma-jobi sprout extract (CLSE) on cell proliferation in human cervical cancer HeLa cells, we conducted a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay.
Conclusions
Coix lacryma-jobi sprout extract (CLSE) causes cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death through inactivation of the PI3K/AKT pathway in HeLa cells, suggesting it is a viable therapeutic agent for cervical cancer owing to its anticancer effects.
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Insights
Coix lacryma-jobi sprout extract effectively inhibits cervical cancer cell growth by triggering cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.
In the methodology, the research used human cervical cancer HeLa cells to investigate the effects of Coix lacryma-jobi sprout extract (CLSE). The researchers conducted a test known as Cell Counting Kit-8 assay to observe the activity of CLSE on cell multiplication. Flow-cytometric analysis and western blot analysis were also used to examine the impact of CLSE on the regulation of the cell cycle and apoptosis (cell death) in the HeLa cells.
In terms of the results, it was found that CLSE significantly halted cell proliferation, and promoted cell cycle arrest in the HeLa cells. This arrest was associated with downregulation of certain key proteins involved in cell cycle regulation. Additionally, CLSE was seen to induce apoptosis, demonstrated by specific staining techniques used to observe nuclear DNA fragmentation. The induction of apoptosis was tied to the inhibition of certain anti-apoptotic proteins and the upregulation of apoptotic proteins. Lastly, it was observed that CLSE deactivated certain key pathways in HeLa cells. As a conclusion, CLSE's therapeutic potential against cervical cancer was emphasized due to these anti-cancer effects.
