Esculetin (6,7-dihydroxycoumarin): A potential cancer chemopreventive agent through suppression of Sp1 in oral squamous cancer cells

Cho,Jin   Hyoung; Shin,Jae-Cheon; Cho,Jung-Jae; Choi,Yung  Hyun; Shim,Jung-Hyun; Chae,Jung-Il

doi:10.3892/ijo.2014.2700

Esculetin (6,7-dihydroxycoumarin): A potential cancer chemopreventive agent through suppression of Sp1 in oral squamous cancer cells

Authors:
- Jin Hyoung Cho
- Jae-Cheon Shin
- Jung-Jae Cho
- Yung Hyun Choi
- Jung-Hyun Shim
- Jung-Il Chae
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Affiliations: Department of Oral Pharmacology, School of Dentistry and Institute of Oral Bioscience, BK21 plus, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 651-756, Republic of Korea, Pohang Center for Evaluation of Biomaterials, Pohang Technopark, Jigok-dong, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, Republic of Korea, Natural Medicine Research Institute, Department of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Mokpo National University, Muan-gun, Jeonnam 534-729, Republic of Korea, Department of Biochemistry, Dongeui University College of Oriental Medicine, Busan 614-052, Republic of Korea
Published online on: October 7, 2014 https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2014.2700
Pages: 265-271

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Abstract

Esculetin (6,7-dihydroxycoumarin), a coumarin compound, is known to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in several types of human cancer cells and is regarded as a promising chemotherapeutic agent. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the anti-proliferative effects of esculetin on two oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines, HN22 and HSC4, through regulation of specificity protein 1 (Sp1). We examined the apoptotic effects of esculetin were measured by MTS assay, DAPI staining, Annexin V, PI staining, RT-PCR, western blot analysis and immunocytochemistry in HN22 and HSC4 cells. Taken together, the results of the present study indicate that esculetin had anti-proliferative effect on the growth of OSCC cells (HN22 and HSC4) in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The treatment of HN22 and HSC4 cells with esculetin led to a significant reduction in growth and induced apoptosis, followed by the regulation of Sp1 and Sp1 regulatory protein. This indicates that esculetin inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis by suppressing Sp1 in HN22 and HSC4 cells, suggesting it to be a potent anticancer drug candidate for oral cancer.

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