Novel function of scutellarin in inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing cell apoptosis of human Burkitt lymphoma Namalwa cells

Abstract

Anti-lymphoma therapy continues to present a major challenge. Even though cytotoxic therapy, immunotherapy and molecularly targeted therapy have been used in the clinic to treat the disease, effective anti-lymphoma drugs are still needed. In this study, we explored novel anti-lymphoma agents and found that scutellarin, an active component of a traditional Chinese medicinal herb Erigeron breviscapus, executed an anti-lymphoma effect. Scutellarin diminished the proliferation of B-lymphoma Namalwa cells in vitro and inhibited lymphoma growth in Namalwa cell-xenotransplanted mice without obvious toxicity. A mechanism study showed that scutellarin at doses of less than 10 μM induced cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 transition without the induction of cell apoptosis, which was accompanied by down-regulation of cyclin D1 and CDK4 expression. In contrast, scutellarin at concentrations of 15 μM or above promoted Namalwa cell apoptosis, which was partially associated with the activation of caspases. These results suggest that scutellarin is a new potential anti-lymphoma candidate.

Keywords::

• Scutellarin
• lymphoma
• Namalwa cells
• cell cycle
• apoptosis
• anti-lymphoma

Acknowledgements

We thank Professor Sudan He for the gift of Z-VAD. This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 30971138), Chinese Academy of Science Special National Strategic Leader Project (no. XDA01040200), Suzhou City Scientific Research Fund (no. SWG0904, SS201004 and SS201138), a project funded by the priority academic program development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD), the Cultivation Base of State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Biomaterials developed by the Ministry of Science and Technology and Jiangsu Province, and Jiangsu Province's Key Discipline of Medicine (XK201118).

Potential conflict of interest

Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available with the full text of this article at www.informahealthcare.com/lal.