Wogonin, a Plant Flavone, Potentiates Etoposide-Induced Apoptosis in Cancer Cells

• Published in: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Vol. 1095; no. 1; pp. 521 - 526
• Main Authors: LEE, EIBAI, ENOMOTO, RIYO, SUZUKI, CHIE, OHNO, MASATAKA, OHASHI, TOSHINORI, MIYAUCHI, AZUSA, TANIMOTO, ERIKO, MAEDA, KAORI, HIRANO, HIROYUKI, YOKOI, TOSHIO, SUGAHARA, CHIYOKO
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.01.2007
• Subjects: Animals; anticancer effect; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - pharmacology; apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; cancer cell; Drug Synergism; etoposide; Etoposide - pharmacology; Flavanones - pharmacology; HL-60 Cells; Humans; Jurkat Cells; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute - drug therapy; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute - pathology; Leukemia, T-Cell - drug therapy; Leukemia, T-Cell - pathology; Rats; Scutellaria; wogonin
• ISSN: 0077-8923; 1749-6632
• DOI: 10.1196/annals.1397.056

:  Etoposide, a podophylotoxin anticancer agent, induces apoptotic cell death in normal and cancer cells. Etoposide‐induced apoptosis plays a role in not only anticancer effect but also adverse reaction, such as myelosuppression. Since we have found that wogonin, a flavone found in Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, prevents thymocyte apoptosis induced by various compounds including etoposide, we examined the effect of this flavone on etoposide‐induced apoptosis in cancer cells. Although 100 μM wogonin itself significantly increased DNA fragmentation in HL‐60 cells, this change was not observed in Jurkat cells. On the other hand, this flavone significantly potentiated etoposide‐induced apoptosis in Jurkat and HL‐60 cells. Similarly, wogonin accelerated etoposide‐induced cell death in lung cancer cells. Since wogonin had no effect on the action of other anticancer agents, such as 5‐FU and cisplatin, this flavone seems to accelerate only etoposide‐induced apoptotic cell death in cancer cells. These results suggest that the modification of etoposide‐induced apoptosis by wogonin may be available to reduce the adverse reaction of this agent.