Gambogic acid inhibits growth, induces apoptosis, and overcomes drug resistance in human colorectal cancer cells

Wen,Chuangyu; Huang,Lanlan; Chen,Junxiong; Lin,Mengmeng; Li,Wen; Lu,Biyan; Rutnam,Zina  Jeyapalan; Iwamoto,Aikichi; Wang,Zhongyang; Yang,Xiangling; Liu,Huanliang

doi:10.3892/ijo.2015.3166

Gambogic acid inhibits growth, induces apoptosis, and overcomes drug resistance in human colorectal cancer cells

Authors:
- Chuangyu Wen
- Lanlan Huang
- Junxiong Chen
- Mengmeng Lin
- Wen Li
- Biyan Lu
- Zina Jeyapalan Rutnam
- Aikichi Iwamoto
- Zhongyang Wang
- Xiangling Yang
- Huanliang Liu
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Affiliations: Guangdong Institute of Gastroenterology and the Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510655, P.R. China, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510260, P.R. China, Dongguan Health School, Dongguan, Guangdong 523186, P.R. China, Tumor Vaccine Group, Center for Translational Medicine in Women's Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Wa 98195-8050, USA, Advanced Clinical Research Center, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
Published online on: September 15, 2015 https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2015.3166
Pages: 1663-1671
Copyright: © Wen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The emergence of chemoresistance is a major limitation of colorectal cancer (CRC) therapies and novel biologically based therapies are urgently needed. Natural products represent a novel potential anticancer therapy. Gambogic acid (GA), a small molecule derived from Garcinia hanburyi Hook. f., has been demonstrated to be highly cytotoxic to several types of cancer cells and have low toxicity to the hematopoietic system. However, the potential role of GA in colorectal cancer and its ability to overcome the chemotherapeutic resistance in CRC cells have not been well studied. In the present study, we showed that GA directly inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in both 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) sensitive and 5-FU resistant colorectal cancer cells; induced apoptosis via activating JNK signaling pathway. The data, therefore, suggested an alternative strategy to overcome 5-FU resistance in CRC and that GA could be a promising medicinal compound for colorectal cancer therapy.

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