Licochalcone H Synthesized by Modifying Structure of Licochalcone C Extracted from Glycyrrhiza inflata Induces Apoptosis of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells

• Published in: Cell biochemistry and biophysics Vol. 78; no. 1; pp. 65 - 76
• Main Authors: Kwak, Ah-Won, Cho, Seung-Sik, Yoon, Goo, Oh, Ha-Na, Lee, Mee-Hyun, Chae, Jung-Il, Shim, Jung-Hyun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.03.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anticancer properties; Apaf-1 protein; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins - metabolism; BAX protein; Bcl-2 protein; Biochemistry; Biological and Medical Physics; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biophysics; Biotechnology; Cancer; Cdc2 protein; Cell Biology; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell proliferation; Chalcones - chemical synthesis; Chalcones - chemistry; Chalcones - isolation & purification; Chalcones - pharmacology; Cyclin B1; Cytochrome c; Cytochromes; Endoplasmic reticulum; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress - drug effects; Esophageal cancer; Esophageal Neoplasms - metabolism; Esophageal Neoplasms - pathology; Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma - metabolism; Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma - pathology; Esophagus; G2 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints - drug effects; Glycyrrhiza - chemistry; Glycyrrhiza - metabolism; Humans; Janus Kinases - metabolism; Life Sciences; Mcl-1 protein; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial - drug effects; Mitochondria; Organic chemistry; Original Paper; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases - metabolism; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Proteins; Reactive oxygen species; Reactive Oxygen Species - chemistry; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Signal transduction; Signal Transduction - drug effects; Squamous cell carcinoma; Survival; Synthesis; Time dependence; Tumor cell lines; Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; p38; Licochalcone H; JNK; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 1085-9195; 1559-0283
• DOI: 10.1007/s12013-019-00892-3

Esophageal cancer is one of the malignant cancers with a low 5-year survival rate. Licochalcone (LC) H, a chemically synthesized substance, is a regioisomer of LCC extracted from licorice. The purpose of this study was to determine whether LCH might have anticancer effect on human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cell lines via apoptosis signaling pathway. After 48 h of treatment, IC 50 of LCH in KYSE 30, KYSE 70, KYSE 410, KYSE 450, and KYSE 510 cells were 15, 14, 18, 15, and 16 μM, respectively. This study demonstrated that LCH potently suppressed proliferation of ESCC cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. LCH triggered G2/M-phase arrest by modulating expression levels of cdc2, cyclin B1, p21, and p27. LCH also induced apoptosis of ESCC cells through reactive oxygen species-mediated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress via JNK/p38 activation pathways. The anticancer effect of LCH was associated with ER stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. It also affected protein levels of Mcl-1, tBid, Bax, Bcl-2, cytochrome c, Apaf-1, PARP, cleaved-PARP, and ER stress-related proteins (GRP78 and CHOP). Our findings provide the first demonstration that LCH has anticancer effect on ESCC. Thus, LCH might have potential for preventing and/or treating human ESCC.