Lung Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Lung Cancer, including details on symptoms, smoking, genetics, treatment, causes.

Antitumor effect of beta-elemene in non-small-cell lung cancer cells is mediated via induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death.

Wang G, Li X, Huang F, Zhao J, Ding H, Cunningham C, Coad JE, Flynn DC, Reed E, Li QQ

The Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, West Virginia University Health Sciences Center, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506, USA.

Beta-elemene is a novel anticancer drug, which was extracted from the ginger plant. However, the mechanism of action of beta-elemene in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unknown. Here we show that beta-elemene had differential inhibitory effects on cell growth between NSCLC cell lines and lung fibroblast and bronchial epithelial cell lines. In addition, beta-elemene was found to arrest NSCLC cells at G2-M phase, the arrest being accompanied by decreases in the levels of cyclin B1 and phospho-Cdc2 (Thr-161) and increases in the levels of p27(kip1) and phospho-Cdc2 (Tyr-15). Moreover, beta-elemene reduced the expression of Cdc25C, which dephosphorylates/activates Cdc2, but enhanced the expression of the checkpoint kinase, Chk2, which phosphorylates/ inactivates Cdc25C. These findings suggest that the effect of beta-elemene on G2-M arrest in NSCLC cells is mediated partly by a Chk2-dependent mechanism. We also demonstrate that beta-elemene triggered apoptosis in NSCLC cells. Our results clearly show that beta-elemene induced caspase-3, -7 and -9 activities, decreased Bcl-2 expression, caused cytochrome c release and increased the levels of cleaved caspase-9 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in NSCLC cells. These data indicate that the effect of beta-elemene on lung cancer cell death may be through a mitochondrial release of the cytochrome c-mediated apoptotic pathway.

Published 3 May 2005 in Cell Mol Life Sci, 62(7): 881-93.
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