| Introduction Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of
cancer mortality in the USA. There are a number of medicinal
plants triggering apoptosis response in cancer cells, thus have
a therapeutic potential. On the other hand, due to traditional
uses and availability of Anacyclus pyrethrum extract, we decided
to evaluate the efficacy of this medicinal herb on human
colorectal cancer cell line (HCT).
Materials and Methods In the present study, the cytotoxic
effects of Anacyclus pyrethrum extract were assessed by
3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide
(MTT) assay, and trypan blue viability dye. Then, flow
cytometry assay was exploited to measure cell death and apoptosis
stage. The scratch test was exploited to assess the
effect of Anacyclus pyrethrum on the migration of cancer
cells. The expression levels of Caspase 3, Bcl-2, MMP1, and
Vimentin genes were quantified by real-time PCR. Finally,
cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry.
Results MTT assay showed that Anacyclus pyrethrum extract
significantly inhibited the cell growth. According to the flow
cytometry assay result, the herbal extract was able to induce
apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells. Our findings also demonstrated
that the plant extract substantially increases the caspase
3 mRNA expression, while decreases Bcl-2, MMP1, and
Vimentin. Cell cycle arrest occurred in G1 stage, due to the
results of flow cytometry.
Conclusion These results indicate that Anacyclus pyrethrum
extract can successfully induce apoptosis in HCT cells.
Therefore, it could be used as a novel therapeutic candidate
for colorectal cancer treatment. |