Icariin exerts inhibitory effects on the growth and metastasis of KYSE70 human esophageal carcinoma cells via PI3K/AKT and STAT3 pathways

Publication date: Available online 19 June 2017 Source:Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology Author(s): Zhen-Fang Gu, Zi-Teng Zhang, Jun-Ye Wang, Bao-Bin Xun Esophageal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer related mortality across the globe. The current treatment options are insufficient and are associated with number of side effects. Therefore there is a pressing need to develop effective and more efficient strategies for the treatment of esophageal cancer. Consistently, natural products are considered potential candidates for develop of cancer chemotherapy. Icariin is a naturally occurring flavonol glucoside and has been reported to possess tremendous pharmacological potential ranging from neuroprotection to anticancer activity. However, the pharmacological role of icariin in esophageal cancer is still largely unclear. Here in the present study, icariin was evaluated for its anticancer activity against KYSE70 esophageal cancer cells and the possible underlying mechanism was determined. Icariin induced cytotoxicity with an IC50 of 40μM in esophageal cancer cells. These inhibitory effects were due to apoptosis through reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediated alterations in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). The results indicated that icariin enhanced the accretion of ROS upto 260% and reduced the MMP upto 48% at 100μM. Icariin also induced G2/M cell cycle arrest as evident from the significant increase in the G2 cell populations of KYSE70 esophageal ca...
Source: Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research