Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. May 28, 2019; 25(20): 2463-2472
Published online May 28, 2019. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v25.i20.2463
Brucea javanica oil emulsion improves the effect of radiotherapy on esophageal cancer cells by inhibiting cyclin D1-CDK4/6 axis
Zhong-Hua Qiu, Wei-Wei Zhang, Hong-Hua Zhang, Gui-Hua Jiao
Zhong-Hua Qiu, Wei-Wei Zhang, Gui-Hua Jiao, Department of Interventional Therapy, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, 272000, Shandong Province, China
Hong-Hua Zhang, Department of Neurology, Liangshan County People's Hospital, Jining, 272600, Shandong Province, China
Author contributions: Qiu ZH and Jiao GH designed the research; Qiu ZH and Zhang WW performed the research; Zhang HH analyzed the data; Qiu ZH wrote the paper.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Gui-Hua Jiao, MSc, Chief Nurse, Department of Interventional Therapy, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining 272000, Shandong Province, China. zhqiu123@163.com
Telephone: +86-18853715571 Fax: +86-537-2903918
Received: March 23, 2019
Peer-review started: March 25, 2019
First decision: April 8, 2019
Revised: April 12, 2019
Accepted: May 8, 2019
Article in press: May 8, 2019
Published online: May 28, 2019
Processing time: 66 Days and 23.9 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Esophageal cancer is one of the most common cancers around the world. Brucea javanica oil emulsion (BJOE) is widely used against various cancers, but its anti-cancer effect and molecular mechanism on esophageal cancer is not clear.

Research motivation

To develop new anti-cancer drugs or radiosensitizer to improve the efficacy of radiotherapy against esophageal cancer.

Research objectives

To explore BJOE’s anti-cancer effect and its potential as a new radiosensitizer on esophageal cancer and to investigate its molecular pathways.

Research methods

The inhibitory effect of BJOE on esophageal carcinoma cells was examined by cell viability assays. Cell migration and invasion of EC109 and JAR cells treated with BJOE were measured by wound-healing assays and transwell assay. The apoptosis rate of EC109 treated with BJOE combined with radiotherapy was measured by Hoechst staining. The expression of apoptosis- and cycle-related proteins was detected by western blotting.

Research results

Our results suggested that BJOE strongly inhibits the growth of esophageal cancer cell lines. BJOE significantly reduced the migration and invasion abilities of EC109 and JAR. More importantly, BJOE promoted apoptosis of esophageal carcinoma cells to enhance the effect of radiotherapy. The expression of Bax and p21 were increased, while the expression of Bcl-2 remained stable. The expression of cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4)/6 was significantly decreased.

Research conclusions

BJOE could effectively suppress cell growth and promote cell apoptosis of esophageal cancerous cells during radiotherapy through cyclin D1-CDK4/6 axis.

Research perspectives

As a potential anti-cancer drug or radiosensitizer, BJOE may be a viable for esophageal cancer in the future, although more research is needed to verify its effect and safety. Besides, the cyclin D1-CDK4/6 axis that mediated BJOE’s anti-cancer effect may provide important information and therapeutic targets against esophageal cancer. Additional pathways about the cell cycle may be worthy to investigate and discuss in the future.