An Investigation on the Therapeutic Potential of Butein, A Tretrahydroxychalcone Against Human Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Bordoloi, Devivasha; Monisha, Javadi; Roy, Nand Kishor; Padmavathi, Ganesan; Banik, Kishore; Harsha, Choudhary; Wang, Hong; Kumar, Alan Prem; Arfuso, Frank; Kunnumakkara, Ajaikumar B

doi:10.31557/APJCP.2019.20.11.3437

An Investigation on the Therapeutic Potential of Butein, A Tretrahydroxychalcone Against Human Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Document Type : Research Articles

Authors

¹ Cancer Biology Laboratory, & DAILAB, DBT-AIST International Center for Translational & Environmental Research (DAICENTER), Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam, India.

² Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.

³ Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Initiative, National University of Singapore, Singapore.

⁴ Stem Cell and Cancer Biology Laboratory, School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia.

⁵ IIT Guwahati

10.31557/APJCP.2019.20.11.3437

Abstract

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most predominant cancers in India. With advances in the field of oncology, a number of therapies have emerged; however, they are minimally effective. Consequently, there is a need to develop safe and effective regimens for the treatment of OSCC. Butein, a tetrahydroxychalcone has been found to exhibit potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and also anti-tumor effects against several cancer types. However, its effect on OSCC is not studied yet. Methods: The effect of butein on the viability, apoptosis, migration and invasion of OSCC cells was evaluated using MTT, colony formation, PI/FACS, live and dead, scratch wound healing, and matrigel invasion assays. Further Western blot analysis was done to evaluate the expression of different proteins involved in the regulation of cancer hallmarks. Results: This is the first report exemplifying the anti-cancer effect of butein against OSCC. Our results showed that butein exhibited potent anti-proliferative, cytotoxic, anti-migratory, and anti-invasive effects in OSCC cells. It suppressed the expression of NF-κB and NF-κB-regulated gene products such as COX-2, survivin and MMP-9 which are involved in the regulation of different processes like proliferation, survival, invasion, and metastasis of OSCC cells. Conclusion Collectively, these results suggest that butein has immense potential in the management of OSCC. Nonetheless, in vivo validation is critical before moving to clinical trials.

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