Induction of ferroptosis in human nasopharyngeal cancer cells by cucurbitacin B: molecular mechanism and therapeutic potential

• Published in: Cell death & disease Vol. 12; no. 3; pp. 237 - 13
• Main Authors: Huang, Shuai, Cao, Bihui, Zhang, Jinling, Feng, Yunfei, Wang, Lu, Chen, Xiaopei, Su, Hang, Liao, Shengrong, Liu, Jinggong, Yan, Jun, Liang, Baoxia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 04.03.2021; Springer Nature B.V; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 13/1; 13/2; 13/31; 14/19; 14/28; 631/67/1059/153; 631/67/2327; Animals; Antibodies; Antifungal agents; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - pharmacology; Apoptosis; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cell Biology; Cell Culture; Cell cycle; Cell migration; Cell Movement - drug effects; Cytology; Cytotoxicity; Female; Ferroptosis; Ferroptosis - drug effects; G2 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints - drug effects; Glutathione; Hep G2 Cells; Humans; Immunology; Life Sciences; Lipid peroxidation; Lipid Peroxidation - drug effects; MCF-7 Cells; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Nude; Mitochondria; Molecular modelling; Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma - drug therapy; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma - genetics; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma - metabolism; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma - pathology; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - drug therapy; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - genetics; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - metabolism; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - pathology; Natural products; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase - genetics; Phospholipid Hydroperoxide Glutathione Peroxidase - metabolism; Throat cancer; Transmission electron microscopy; Triterpenes - pharmacology; Tumor Burden - drug effects; Tumors; Ultrastructure; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Cucurbitacin B (CuB) is a widely available triterpenoid molecule that exhibits various biological activities. Previous studies on the anti-tumour mechanism of CuB have mostly focused on cell apoptosis, and research on the ferroptosis-inducing effect has rarely been reported. Herein, we first discove...