Studies of the anticancer potential of andrographolide in human cancer cells

Abstract

The anticancer property of Andro, a major component extracted from Andrographis paniculata, has been systematically investigated in this study. The whole study can be divided into three parts: Andro exerts its anti-tumor effect by inducing caspase-dependent apoptosis through Bid-mediated mitochondrial pathway; Andro sensitizes TRAIL-induced apoptosis in cancer cells by p53-dependent DR4 up-regulation via ROS accumulation; Andro enhances the anticancer activity of doxorubicin by down-regulating anti-apoptotic proteins via suppression of STAT3 activation. In summary, data from this study demonstrate that Andro could be a potent anticancer agent through inducing apoptosis in various cancer cells. More importantly, this study provides evidence showing that Andro is highly capable of sensitizing TRAIL and doxorubicin-induced cancer cell apoptosis. Such findings support the potential application of Andro as a potent apoptosis inducer and chemo-sensitizer in cancer therapy.