β‑asarone suppresses HCT116 colon cancer cell proliferation and liver metastasis in part by activating the innate immune system

Chen,Min; Zhuang,Yu-Wen; Wu,Cun-En; Peng,Hai-Yan; Qian,Jun; Zhou,Jin-Yong

doi:10.3892/ol.2021.12696

β‑asarone suppresses HCT116 colon cancer cell proliferation and liver metastasis in part by activating the innate immune system

Authors:
- Min Chen
- Yu-Wen Zhuang
- Cun-En Wu
- Hai-Yan Peng
- Jun Qian
- Jin-Yong Zhou
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Affiliations: General Internal Medicine Department, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, P.R. China, Traditional Chinese Medicine Department, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210002, P.R. China, Oncology Department, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, P.R. China, Central Laboratory, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, P.R. China
Published online on: March 31, 2021 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2021.12696
Article Number: 435
Copyright: © Chen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Studies have revealed that β‑asarone exerts a powerful inhibitory effect on the proliferation of human cancer cells. The authors' previous study demonstrated that β‑asarone could induce LoVo colon cancer cell apoptosis in vitro and in vivo, indicating its anticancer properties. The present study aimed to determine the antineoplastic effect of β‑asarone in HCT116 colon cancer cells. An in vitro proliferation assay using a real time cell analyzer demonstrated that β‑asarone effectively decreased HCT116 cell proliferation in a dose‑dependent manner. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes following β‑asarone inhibition were involved in the ‘cell cycle’, ‘cell division’, ‘cell proliferation’ and ‘apoptosis’. Subsequently, a xenograft assay evidenced the inhibitory effect of β‑asarone on the growth of HCT116 tumors in vivo. Further detection of immune‑associated cytokines and cells suggested that β‑asarone might be involved in the antitumor immune response by stimulating granulocyte‑colony stimulating factor and increasing the number of macrophage cells in the spleen. Additionally, a murine model of splenic‑transplantation verified the strong suppressive role of β‑asarone in colon cancer liver metastasis in vivo. Taken together, the results of the current study revealed that β‑asarone decreased HCT116 colon cancer cell proliferation and liver metastasis potentially by activating the innate immune system, supporting the multi‑system regulation theory and providing a basis for further mechanistic studies on colon cancer.

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