Cynara scolymus affects malignant pleural mesothelioma by promoting apoptosis and restraining invasion

Our plain-English summary of Cynara scolymus affects malignant pleural mesothelioma by promoting apoptosis and restraining invasion, by C. Pulito, F. Mori, A. Sacconi, et al (Oncotarget, 2015).

The study

• Authors: C. Pulito, F. Mori, A. Sacconi, L. Casadei, M. Ferraiuolo, M.C. Valerio, R. Santoro, F. Goeman, A. Maidecchi, L. Mattoli, C. Manetti, S. Di Agostino, P. Muti, G. Blandino, S. Strano
• Journal: Oncotarget
• Published: 2015;6(20):18134-50
• Cited by: 31 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a poorly treated neoplasia arising from the pleural mesothelial lining. Here we document that the leaf extract of Cynara scolymus exerts broad antitumoral effects both in vitro and in vivo on mesothelioma cell lines. We found that Cynara scolymus treatment affects strongly cell growth, migration and tumor engraftment of mesothelioma cell lines. Strikingly, dietary feeding with Cynara scolymus leaf extract reduces the growth of mesothelioma xenografted tumors similarly to pemetrexed, a commonly employed drug in the treatment of mesothelioma. In aggregate our findings suggest that leaf extract of Cynara scolymus holds therapeutic potential for the treatment of mesothelioma.

In plain English

This was a laboratory study of cells and mice. It did not study people or asbestos exposure. The authors tested a freeze-dried extract of artichoke (Cynara scolymus) leaves, prepared by the company Aboca, on three human malignant pleural mesothelioma cell lines (MSTO-211H, MPP-89 and NCI-H28) and on untransformed mesothelial cells. They also tested it on mice carrying implanted MSTO-211H tumors. In cell culture, the extract reduced mesothelioma cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, and the normal mesothelial cells were more resistant to this effect. The extract also reduced colony formation and cell migration and invasion, and it produced signs of programmed cell death (apoptosis). Cells pre-treated with the extract formed tumors less efficiently in mice. In mice given the extract in drinking water for 3 weeks, tumor growth was reduced significantly and in a dose-dependent way. Groups had 6 mice each. The authors described this effect as similar to that of the chemotherapy drug pemetrexed. The authors concluded that the extract is a natural product with broad antitumoral activity on malignant pleural mesothelioma. They did not state limitations.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Laboratory study: experiments on human mesothelioma cell lines in culture (in vitro) and on mice with implanted mesothelioma tumors (in vivo xenografts)
• Who was studied: Human malignant pleural mesothelioma cell lines MSTO-211H, MPP-89 and NCI-H28, plus untransformed human mesothelial cells (HMC), treated with 3 to 200 μg/ml of extract for 72 hours; also CD1 mice implanted with MSTO-211H cells, in groups of 6
• Exposure: Freeze-dried artichoke (Cynara scolymus) leaf extract prepared by the Aboca company (two authors are listed with an Aboca affiliation); compared in some experiments with pemetrexed and cisplatin. No asbestos exposure was studied.
• Main results:
  • The extract reduced viability of the mesothelioma cell lines in a dose-dependent manner
  • The untransformed mesothelial cells (HMC) were more resistant to the extract's growth-inhibiting effect
  • The extract inhibited colony formation by all three mesothelioma cell lines
  • In MSTO-211H and MPP-89 cells the extract increased markers of apoptosis (cleaved caspase 3, caspase 7 and PARP)
  • At 6 μg/ml and 12 μg/ml the extract inhibited migration of MSTO-211H cells by 50% and 35% respectively, as printed
  • The extract reduced invasion by MSTO-211H cells
  • MSTO-211H cells pre-treated with the extract formed tumors less efficiently in CD1 mice than vehicle-treated cells
  • In mice with implanted tumors, 3 weeks of extract in drinking water reduced tumor growth significantly and in a dose-dependent way; the authors described the effect as similar to pemetrexed
  • Tumors from extract-treated mice showed significantly lower Ki67 (a marker of cell proliferation) than tumors from vehicle-treated mice
  • The highest extract dose increased the effect of pemetrexed on tumor volume in mice
  • The extract reduced nuclear β-catenin staining (part of the WNT signalling pathway) in two mesothelioma cell lines
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that their evidence places artichoke leaf extract as a natural product with broad antitumoral activity on malignant pleural mesothelioma

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma, Apoptosis, Mesothelioma, Pemetrexed (Alimta).

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