Title:Anti-tumoral Effect of Thymelaea hirsuta L. Extracts in Colorectal Cancer Cells
Volume: 23
Issue: 6
Author(s): Iheb Toumi, Sonia Yatouji, Nicolas Borie, Simon Remy, Jean-Hugues Renault, Lise Chazee, Mohamed Hammami, Laurent Martiny, Emmanuelle Devarenne-Charpentier and Hassan El Btaouri*
Affiliation:
- UMR-CNRS 7369 Matrice Extracellulaire et Dynamique Cellulaire (MEDyC), UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, Moulin de la Housse, BP 1039, 51687 Reims cedex, France
Keywords:
Thymelaea hirsuta, natural compounds, colorectal cancer cells, 5-Fluorouracil, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest.
Abstract:
Background: Conventional chemotherapeutic treatment of colorectal cancer has low efficiency because of
its high toxicity. Several studies identified natural compounds as potential antitumor agents by inducing cancer cell
cycle arrest or apoptosis and exhibiting a potential synergy in drug combination therapy. Natural compounds derived
from plants represent an important source of pharmacologic agents toward several diseases. For example, the Tunisian
Thymelaeaceae plants are used in folk medicine for the treatment of different pathologies such as diabetes and hypertension.
Objective: The Thymelaea hirsuta L. extracts were evaluated for their anti-tumoral activities and their adjuvant potential
that could be used in conventional colorectal cancer therapy.
Methods: Fractionation of total methanolic extract from the plant leaves provided 4 fractions using vacuum liquid
chromatography. The cytotoxic activities of these fractions were tested toward colorectal cancer cells.
Results: Ethyl acetate fraction (E2 fraction) induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis by activating caspase-3. E2 fraction
inhibited cell invasion by reducing integrin α5 expression and FAK phosphorylation. Moreover, E2 fraction potentialized
colorectal cancer cells to 5-FU treatment.
Conclusion: The selected plant Thymelaea hirsuta is the source of natural compounds that inhibited cell growth and
invasion and induced cell cycle arrest in colorectal cancer cells. The most interesting result was their potential synergy
in 5-FU combination treatment. Further analysis will identify the active compounds and confirm their role in chemotherapeutic
treatment by sensitizing colorectal cancer cell to anti-cancer drugs.