Psoralen is a coumarin-like and coumarin-related benzofuran glycoside, which is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine to treat patients with kidney and spleen-yang deficiency symptom. Psoralen has been reported to show estrogen-like activity, antioxidant activity, osteoblastic proliferation accelerating activity, antitumor effects and antibacterial activity. However, the antitumor mechanism of psoralen is not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of psoralen in human hepatoma cell line SMMC7721 and the mechanism of antitumor effects. Psoralen inhibited proliferation of SMMC7721 in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and promoted apoptosis. Further, psoralen activated the ER stress signal pathway, including the expansion of endoplasmic reticulum, increasing the mRNA levels of GRP78, DDIT3, ATF4, XBP1, GADD34 and the protein levels of GDF15, GRP78, IRE1α, XBP-1s in a time-dependent manner. Psoralen induces cell cycle arrest at G1 phase by enhancing CyclinD1 and reducing CyclinE1 expression. Moreover, TUDC couldn’t inhibit the psoralen-induced ER stress in SMMC7721 cells. Psoralen can inhibit the proliferation of SMMC7721 cells and induce ER stress response to induce cell apoptosis, suggesting that psoralen may represent a novel therapeutic option for the prevention and treatment hepatocellular carcinoma.

Akebia Fructus has long been used for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in China, while the molecular mechanism remains obscure. Our recent work found that Akebia trifoliate (Thunb.) Koidz seed extract (ATSE) suppressed proliferation and induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in SMMC‐7721. The present study aimed to throw more light on the mechanism. ER stress occurred after ATSE treatment in HepG2, HuH7, and SMMC‐7721 cells, manifested as ER expansion, and SMMC‐7721 was the most sensitive kind in terms of morphology. Cell viability assay showed that ATSE significantly inhibited cells proliferation. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that ATSE leads to an upward tendency of G0/G1 phase and a reduced trend of the continuous peak after G2/M phase in HepG2; ATSE promoted apoptosis in HuH7 and a notable reduction in G0/G1 phase; ATSE does not quite influence cell cycles of SMMC‐7721. Western blot analysis showed an increased trend of the chosen ER stress‐related proteins after different treatments but nonsignificantly; only HYOU1 and GRP78 were decreased notably by ATSE in HuH7. Affymetrix array indicated that lots of ER stress‐related genes’ expressions were significantly altered, and downward is the main trend. These results suggest that ATSE have anticancer potency in HCC cells via partly inducing ER stress.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignancies diagnosed in males. Cancer-related inflammatory factors include tumor necrosis factor, inflammasomes, cytokines, chemokines, transcription factors, infiltrating or circulating immune cells, reactive oxygen species, and sex hormone receptors. These are mainly associated with the local immune response at the tumor site. Emodin, a chemical compound that can be isolated from the plant rhubarb among others, has been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties in prostate cancer. This review summarizes the effects of emodin on prostate cancer and analyzes whether it interferes with prostate cancer through anti-inflammatory pathways. New information regarding the development of emodin derivatives including their increased solubility and reduced side effects through chemical structure modifications is also reviewed.

To investigate the relevance of the pituitary to liver syndromes and cancer by studying the pituitary transcriptome profile in liver cancer mice with different syndromes.