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Active Compound of Pharbitis Semen (Pharbitis nil Seeds) Suppressed KRAS-Driven Colorectal Cancer and Restored Muscle

Jisu Song1,2, Heejung Seo1,3, Mi-Ryung Kim1

  • 1Department of Food Biotechnology, School of Medical and Life Science, Silla University, Busan 46958, Korea.

Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
|June 26, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Pharbitis nil seed extract (PN) effectively inhibits KRAS-mutated colorectal cancer (CRC) cell growth and preserves muscle cell function. PN shows potential as a nature-derived drug for treating KRAS-mutated CRC.

Area of Science:

  • Pharmacology and Natural Products Chemistry
  • Oncology and Cancer Biology
  • Gastroenterology

Background:

  • KRAS-driven colorectal cancer (CRC) presents significant therapeutic challenges due to drug resistance.
  • Traditional East Asian medicine utilizes Pharbitis nil seeds (morning glory) for therapeutic purposes.
  • The potential of Pharbitis nil in managing KRAS-mutated CRC and associated muscle wasting remains unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the suppressive effects of Pharbitis nil seeds on KRAS-mutated CRC.
  • To determine if Pharbitis nil can preserve muscle cell functions during CRC progression.
  • To identify and characterize the active compound from Pharbitis nil seeds.

Main Methods:

  • Purification of the active compound (PN) from Pharbitis nil seeds using chromatography and HPLC.
  • Assessment of PN's effect on KRAS-mutated CRC cell proliferation, clonogenic potential, apoptosis, and cell cycle.
  • Analysis of CRC-related signaling pathways (RAS/ERK, AKT/mTOR) and evaluation of PN's impact on muscle cell proliferation and myotube formation in conditioned media.

Main Results:

  • PN significantly suppressed KRAS-mutated CRC cell proliferation and clonogenic potential in a dose-dependent manner.
  • PN induced apoptosis and G2/M cell cycle arrest in SW480 human colon cancer cells.
  • PN reduced AKT and mTOR phosphorylation, and preserved muscle cell proliferation and myotube formation in cancer-conditioned media.

Conclusions:

  • Pharbitis nil seed extract (PN) demonstrates potent anti-cancer activity against KRAS-mutated CRC.
  • PN effectively preserves muscle cell function, mitigating cancer-associated muscle wasting.
  • PN represents a promising natural-derived compound for developing novel therapeutic strategies against KRAS-mutated CRC.
Keywords:
KRASPharbitis nilcolorectal cancermuscle function

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