PO-YU YANGCHENG-CHIA YUMING-YI LUYI-WEN LIAOCHIH-YU PENG2026-10-162026-10-162017-01-01Pure ID: 14983058Pure UUID: f815b4bf-4355-4d2e-bd29-40f0a6eccb3d10.18632/oncotarget.13755https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85012014042https://scholars.csmu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/24715Current evidence suggests that oral cancer stem cells (OCSCs) possess high tumorigenic and metastatic properties as well as chemo- and radioresistance. In this study, we demonstrated that andrographolide, the main bioactive component in the medicinal plant Andrographis, significantly reduced oncogenicity and restored radio-sensitivity of ALDH1+ CD44+ OCSCs. Mechanistic studies showed that andrographolide treatment increased the expression of microRNA-218 (miR-218), leading to the downregulation of Bmi1. We showed that knockdown of miR-218 in ALDH1- CD44- non-OCSCs enhanced cancer stemness, while silencing of Bmi1 significantly counteracted it. Furthermore, we found tumor growth was reduced in mice bearing xenograft tumors after andrographolide treatment via activation of miR-218/Bmi1 axis. Together, these data demonstrated that the inhibition of tumor aggressiveness in OCSCs by andrographolide was mediated through the upregulation of miR-218, thereby reducing Bmi1 expression. These findings suggest that andrographolide may be a valuable natural compound for anti-CSCs treatment of OSCC.12enjournal article