Open AccessQuercetin induces human colon cancer cells apoptosis by inhibiting the nuclear factor-kappa B Pathway
Author(s) -
Xiang-An Zhang,
Shuangxi Zhang,
Qian Yin,
Jing Zhang
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
pharmacognosy magazine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 0976-4062
pISSN - 0973-1296
DOI - 10.4103/0973-1296.153096
Subject(s) - apoptosis , cancer , cancer research , colorectal cancer , cancer cell , signal transduction , quercetin , cell cycle , biology , nf κb , nfkb1 , lymphoma , programmed cell death , cell cycle checkpoint , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , transcription factor , gene , immunology , biochemistry , antioxidant , genetics
Quercetin can inhibit the growth of cancer cells with the ability to act as chemopreventers. Its cancer-preventive effect has been attributed to various mechanisms, including the induction of cell-cycle arrest and/or apoptosis as well as the antioxidant functions. Nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) is a signaling pathway that controls transcriptional activation of genes important for tight regulation of many cellular processes and is aberrantly expressed in many types of cancer. Inhibitors of NF-κB pathway have shown potential anti-tumor activities. However, it is not fully elucidated in colon cancer. In this study, we demonstrate that quercetin induces apoptosis in human colon cancer CACO-2 and SW-620 cells through inhibiting NF-κB pathway, as well as down-regulation of B-cell lymphoma 2 and up-regulation of Bax, thus providing basis for clinical application of quercetin in colon cancer cases.