Dibenzolium induces apoptosis and inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in bladder cancer cell lines

Bladder cancer treatments are highly aggressive and have strong side effects. Safer and more effective treatments are needed. In this study, Dibenzolium (DIB), a potent NADPH oxidase inhibitor, was evaluated for its anti-tumor effects. KK-47 (non-invasive), T24 and 5637 (invasive) cells were used in experiments. Cell proliferation, apoptosis and wound healing assays and western blotting were conducted. In addition, DIB was intratumorally administered to mice bearing KK-47, T24 and 5637 tumors, and tumor size and weight were observed over time. After removing tumors, immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was conducted. Cell proliferation was significantly suppressed in all cell lines, and apoptotic cells increased in the KK-47 and T24 cell lines after DIB. Wound healing was suppressed in all cell lines by DIB. In KK-47 and T24, DIB increased the protein expression of the epithelial marker E-cadherin. In vivo, DIB safely suppressed tumor growth in all cell lines-bearing mice. Cleaved-Caspase-3 and E-cadherin expression increased in KK-47 and T24 tumors after DIB. In conclusion, DIB inhibited tumor growth by inducing apoptosis through the Caspase-3 pathway and reduced migration and invasion by suppressing epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) in bladder cancer similarly shown as our previous study of prostate cancer.