capillarisin and Neoplasms

Due to the promising features of the ancient herbal plant Artemisia, its biologic activity has been investigated for use in modern medicine. In this regard, Artemisia and its active phytochemicals have been introduced as having antimalarial, antioxidant, cytotoxic, antispasmodic, anthelmintic, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial agents. In the case of cancer treatment, the plant species and its bioactive compounds target multiple pathways. Here we reviewed the scientific literature published up until 2018, which have explained the cytotoxic activity of the Artemisia species and their constituents. This review summarizes the published data found in PubMed, Science Direct and Scopus. Here, studies about the cytotoxicity and antitumor action on cancer cells and tumor bearing animals are discussed. Also, detailed molecular pathways affected by the plant and the phytochemistry of the cytotoxic active components are presented. Among all species and chemical constituents, the active ones have been selected and discussed in detail. The cytotoxic comparison made here may open a window for future works and selection of agents for cancer chemotherapy.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; Artemisia; Cell Proliferation; Humans; Molecular Structure; Neoplasms; Neoplasms, Experimental; Plant Extracts; Plants, Medicinal

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) plays an important role in the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. In this study, we examined the inhibitory effect of capillarisin, a bioactive flavonoid of Artemisia capillaries, on phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-induced MMP-9 expression in MCF-7 human breast carcinoma cells. Capillarisin significantly and selectively suppressed PMA-induced MMP-9 expression in MCF-7 and the Matrigel invasion assay showed that capillarisin reduces PMA-induced invasion of MCF-7 cells. Capillarisin has been found to suppress PMA-induced MMP-9 expression through inhibition of the NF-kappaB-dependent transcriptional activity of MMP-9 gene via p38 MAPK and JNK signaling pathways. However, capillarisin had no effect on enzymatic activity of MMP-9 and expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP)-1 and TIMP-2, the major endogenous inhibitors of MMPs. These results suggest that capillarisin represents a potential anti-metastatic agent suppressing cancer cell invasion through specific inhibition of NF-kappaB-dependent MMP-9 gene expression.

Topics: Cell Line, Tumor; Chromones; Collagen; Drug Combinations; Enzyme Activation; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; Laminin; MAP Kinase Signaling System; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9; Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Neoplasms; NF-kappa B; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; Proteoglycans; Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate; Transcription Factor AP-1; Transcriptional Activation