Hemidesmus indicus induces immunogenic death in human colorectal cancer cells

• Published in: Oncotarget Vol. 9; no. 36; pp. 24443 - 24456
• Main Authors: Turrini, Eleonora, Catanzaro, Elena, Muraro, Manuele G, Governa, Valeria, Trella, Emanuele, Mele, Valentina, Calcabrini, Cinzia, Morroni, Fabiana, Sita, Giulia, Hrelia, Patrizia, Tacchini, Massimo, Fimognari, Carmela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Impact Journals LLC 11.05.2018
• Subjects: Research Paper; Hemidesmus indicus; adjuvant activity; colorectal cancer; botanical drugs; immunogenic cell death
• ISSN: 1949-2553; 1949-2553
• DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.25325

The ability of anticancer treatments to promote the activation of tumor-reactive adaptive immune responses is emerging as a critical requirement underlying their clinical effectiveness. We investigated the ability of , a promising anticancer botanical drug, to stimulate immunogenic cell death in a human colorectal cancer cell line (DLD1). Here we show that treatment induces tumor cell cytotoxicity characterized by surface expression of calreticulin, increased HSP70 expression and release of ATP and HMGB1. Remarkably, the exposure to released ICD-inducer factors from -treated DLD1 cells caused a modest induction of CD14-derived dendritic cells maturation, as demonstrated by the increased expression of CD83. Moreover, at sub-toxic concentrations, H.i. treatment of monocytes and dendritic cells induced their mild activation, suggesting its additional direct immunostimulatory activity. These data indicate that induces immunogenic cell death in human tumor cells and suggest its potential relevance in innovative cancer immunotherapy protocols.