ANTI-COLON CANCER ACTIVITY OF ORIGANUM MAJORANA

In the present project, we extend the previous studies of Origanum majorana by evaluating the anti-cancer potential of this plant extract on proliferation of colon cancer. Toward this, we first evaluated the effect of the plant extract on the proliferation and DNA damage, in vitro, of the human colon cancer HT-29 cell line. We also determine the mechanism by which Origanum majorana induced cell death by this extract using biochemical approach. Our results revealed that O. majorana inhibited the growth of HT-29 cells by effecting the cells viability. Further work showed the ability of the extract to cause DNA damage, cell cycle arrest and apoptotic death through activation of caspase 8 and 3 pathways. In conclusion our data recommend Origanum majorana is an effective inhibitor for colon cancer progression and more investigation has to explore the Origanum majorana extract in vivo

Rhus coriaria induces senescence and autophagic cell death in breast cancer cells through a mechanism involving p38 and ERK1/2 activation

Here, we investigated the anticancer effect of Rhus coriaria on three breast cancer cell lines. We demonstrated that Rhus coriaria ethanolic extract (RCE) inhibits the proliferation of these cell lines in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. RCE induced senescence and cell cycle arrest at G1 phase. These changes were concomitant with upregulation of p21, downregulation of cyclin D1, p27, PCNA, c-myc, phospho-RB and expression of senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity. No proliferative recovery was detected after RCE removal. Annexin V staining and PARP cleavage analysis revealed a minimal induction of apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells. Electron microscopy revealed the presence of autophagic vacuoles in RCE-treated cells. Interestingly, blocking autophagy by 3-methyladenine (3-MA) or chloroquine (CQ) reduced RCE-induced cell death and senescence. RCE was also found to activate p38 and ERK1/2 signaling pathways which coincided with induction of autophagy. Furthermore, we found that while both autophagy inhibitors abolished p38 phosphorylation, only CQ led to significant decrease in pERK1/2. Finally, RCE induced DNA damage and reduced mutant p53, two events that preceded autophagy. Our findings provide strong evidence that R. coriaria possesses strong anti-breast cancer activity through induction of senescence and autophagic cell death, making it a promising alternative or adjunct therapeutic candidate against breast cancer.UAEU Program for Advanced Research (Grant 31S111-UPAR) and by the Zayed Center for Health Sciences (ZCHS) research grant (grant 31R021) and College of Science Individual Research Grant (grant 31S123) to Rabah Iratni