Oroxylin A exerts anticancer effects on human ovarian cancer cells via the PPARγ­dependent reversal of the progesterone receptor membrane component 1/2 expression profile.

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological cancer worldwide. To date, the therapeutic approaches available for the treatment of ovarian cancer are still very limited. The present study first demonstrated that the Chinese herb, Oroxylin A, exerts inhibitory effects on both the migratory ability and viability of ovarian cancer cells. Notably, the inhibitory effects of the drug occurred in a dose­dependent manner. Oroxylin A only inhibited cell migration at the lower dose, whereas it induced early or late apoptosis at the middle or higher doses, respectively. Mechanistically, Oroxylin A increased peroxisome proliferator­activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) expression and altered the expression profile of progesterone receptor membrane component (PGRMC)1/2. Notably, PPARγ was revealed to play a central role in Oroxylin A­mediated anticancer activity. The silencing of PPARγ significantly abrogated Oroxylin A­induced apoptotic cell death and restored the expression profile of the PGRMC1/2 family in ovarian cancer cells. Collectively, the present study revealed that Oroxylin A exerted marked anticancer effects against ovarian cancer in vitro. Thus, Oroxylin A may have potential for use as a complementary therapy in the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Extracts of Qizhu decoction inhibit hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in C57BL/6 mice by suppressing NF-κB signaling.

Hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma are serious human diseases. Here, we examined the in vivo and in vitro inhibitory effect of extracts of Qizhu decoction (a traditional Chinese medicine) on hepatitis caused by diethylnitrosamine or hepatitis B virus and on diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocellular carcinoma. The results showed that both the aqueous and ethanol extracts (QC and QS, respectively) of Qizhu decoction significantly inhibited hepatic inflammation and liver cancer induced by diethylnitrosamine or hepatitis B virus by suppressing NF-κB signaling and decreasing the levels of TNF-α and IL-1ß. Both QC and QS inhibited the proliferation and migration of primary cancer hepatocytes by reducing cyclin B1, cyclin D1 and N-cadherin expression and increasing E-cadherin expression. QC and QS also promoted the apoptosis of primary cancer hepatocytes by upregulating caspase-3 and downregulating BCL-2 expression. The knockdown of p65 in NF-κB signaling inhibited the ability of QC and QS to significantly reduce the colony formation ability of liver cancer cells. Additionally, QC and QS might significantly inhibit the DNA replication of hepatitis B virus in vivo and in vitro, and we found that corilagin and polydatin were the active compounds of QC and QS. Taken together, our in vitro findings and our results in C57BL/6 mice showed that extracts of Qizhu decoction might inhibit hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma by suppressing NF-κB signaling.