The mechanisms of action of TianhuaTM on antitumor activity in lung cancer cells

Context: Tianhua (TH-R) is extracted from Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim (Cucurbitaceae) containing trichosanthin, a traditional Chinese medicine, which has been locally reported to have good anticancer effects in vivo in both animal and human models. However, there have been several reports that trichosanthin has an anticancer effect involving apoptosis. Objective: To investigate other anticancer effects of TH-R, various tumorigenesis parameters were verified. Materials and methods: Telomerase activity, anti-apoptosis, anti-migration and immunomodulatory activity were estimated by telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay (TRAP), flow cytometry, Boyden chamber assay and ELISA assay, respectively. Results: In our studies, we are the first to find that TH-R had a cytotoxic effect on lung cancer cells in MTS assays; it could change the cell cycle distribution of human lung cancer cells (A549 cell line) and induce apoptosis. Further anti-telomerase effects in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells using the TRAP assay were noted. TH-R also had an aggregation effect on peripheral blood lymphocytes, but no effect on stimulating peripheral lymphocytes to produce human interferon-γ(IFN-γ). TH-R could inhibit the migration, or metastatic ability, of A549 cells by Boyden chamber assay. In the oral feeding therapy of an in vivo mouse model, there was an initial inhibition of A549 cancer cell growth, but no statistical difference after one month of therapy. Discussion and conclusion: It has been proven that medicinal herbs such as Tianhua have positive effects against cancer through preventing or inhibiting the process of lung tumorigenesis.