With the increased use of plant-based cancer chemotherapy, exploring the antiproliferative effects of phytochemicals for anticancer drug design has gained considerable attention worldwide. This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of walnut green husk extracts on cell proliferation and to determine the possible molecular mechanism of extract-induced cell death by quantifying the expression of Bcl-2, Bax, caspases-3, and Tp53. PC-3 human prostate cancer cells. In this study, we found that green husk extracts suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent manner by modulating expression of apoptosis-related genes. This involved DNA fragmentation (determined by TUNEL assay) and significant changes in levels of mRNA and the expression of corresponding proteins. An increase in expressions of Bax, caspase-3, and tp53 genes and their corresponding proteins was detected using real-time PCR and western blot analysis in PC-3 cells treated with the green husk organic extracts. In contrast, Bcl2 expression was downregulated after exposure to the extracts. Our data suggest the presence of bioactive compound(s) in walnut green husks that are capable of killing prostate carcinoma cells by inducing apoptosis and that the husks are a candidate source of anticancer drugs.
Written by:
Alshatwi AA, Hasan TN, Shafi G, Syed NA, Al-Assaf AH, Alamri MS, Al-Khalifa AS Are you the author?
Molecular Cancer Biology Research Laboratory (MCBRL), Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Reference: Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:103026
doi: 10.1155/2012/103026
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22454652