Cucurbitacin I Inhibits Cell Motility by Indirectly Interfering with Actin Dynamics

Cucurbitacins are plant natural products that inhibit activation of the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway by an unknown mechanism. They are also known to cause changes in the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. actin depolymerization experiments, cucurbitacin I had no effect on the rate of actin filament disassembly at the nanomolar concentrations that inhibit cell migration. At elevated concentrations, the depolymerization rate was also unaffected, although there was a delay in the initiation of depolymerization. Therefore, cucurbitacin I targets some factor involved in cellular actin dynamics other than actin itself. Two candidate proteins that play roles in actin depolymerization are the actin-severing proteins cofilin and gelsolin. Cucurbitacin I possesses electrophilic reactivity that may lead to chemical modification of its target protein, as suggested by structure-activity relationship data. However, mass spectrometry revealed no evidence for modification of purified cofilin or gelsolin by cucurbitacin I.Cucurbitacin I results in accumulation of actin filaments in cells by a unique indirect mechanism. Furthermore, the proximal target of cucurbitacin I relevant to cell migration is unlikely to be the same one involved in activation of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway

Cucurbitacin B inhibits human breast cancer cell proliferation through disruption of microtubule polymerization and nucleophosmin/B23 translocation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cucurbitacin B, an oxygenated tetracyclic triterpenoid compound extracted from the Thai medicinal plant <it>Trichosanthes cucumerina</it> L<it>.</it>, has been reported to have several biological activities including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anticancer. Cucurbitacin B is great of interest because of its biological activity. This agent inhibits growth of various types of human cancer cells lines.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study, we explored the novel molecular response of cucurbitacin B in human breast cancer cells, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. The growth inhibitory effect of cucurbitacin B on breast cancer cells was assessed by MTT assay. The effects of cucurbitacin B on microtubules morphological structure and tubulin polymerization were analyzed using immunofluorescence technique and tubulin polymerization assay kit, respectively. Proteomic analysis was used to identify the target-specific proteins that involved in cucurbitacin B treatment. Some of the differentially expressed genes and protein products were validated by real-time RT-PCR and western blot analysis. Cell cycle distributions and apoptosis were investigated using flow cytometry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cucurbitacin B exhibited strong antiproliferative effects against breast cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. We show that cucurbitacin B prominently alters the cytoskeletal network of breast cancer cells, inducing rapid morphologic changes and improper polymerization of the microtubule network. Moreover, the results of 2D-PAGE, real-time RT-PCR, and western blot analysis revealed that the expression of nucleophosmin/B23 and c-Myc decreased markedly after cucurbitacin B treatment. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that cucurbitacin B induced translocation of nucleophosmin/B23 from the nucleolus to nucleoplasm. Treatment with cucurbitacin B resulted in cell cycle arrest at G₂/M phase and the enhancement of apoptosis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest that cucurbitacin B may inhibit the proliferation of human breast cancer cells through disruption of the microtubule network and down-regulation of c-Myc and nucleophosmin/B23 as well as the perturbation in nucleophosmin/B23 trafficking from the nucleolus to nucleoplasm, resulting in G₂/M arrest.</p