Achillea biebersteinii extracts suppress angiogenesis and enhance sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil of human colon cancer cells via the PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway in vitro

• Published in: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
• Main Authors: Mehmet Kadir Erdogan, Can Ali Ağca, Hakan Aşkın
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2020
• Subjects: achillea biebersteinii; colorectal cancer; chemosensitization; apoptosis; angiogenesis; mtor; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.4103/2221-1691.294091; https://doaj.org/article/857c2167a93e46aa8f1c9675bf583ed1

Objective: To investigate the antiproliferative, anti-angiogenic, and apoptotic effects of extracts of Achillea biebersteinii (ABE) and combined treatments of ABE with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on HT-29 cells. Methods: The effects of ABE, 5-FU, and combined treatments on the viability of HT-29 cells were determined by 3-(4,5- dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Isobologram analysis was used to determine synergism between ABE and 5-FU. The apoptotic and anti-angiogenic effects were determined by cell death detection and human vascular endothelial growth factor ELISA method, respectively. Transcriptional and translational expressions of p53, Bax, Bcl-2, p38 MAPK, Akt, PTEN, and mTOR were also evaluated by real-time PCR and Western blotting analysis. Results: ABE decreased the viability of HT-29 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Combined treatment of hexane, chloroform, and methanol extracts of Achillea biebersteinii with 5-FU at IC50 doses decreased the cell viability to 26.0%, 19.1%, and 14.9%, respectively (P<0.001). Furthermore, ABE treatment alone and combination with 5-FU, induced apoptosis, significantly downregulated mTOR, Akt, Bcl-2 expression, upregulated p53, Bax, PTEN, p38 MAPK expression, and exhibited anti-angiogenetic effects. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that ABE shows synergism with 5-FU and inhibits the proliferation of HT-29 cells by inducing apoptosis and suppressing angiogenesis, which may provide biological evidence for further use of ABE in the treatment of colorectal cancer.