Apoptotic and anti-angiogenic effects of propolis against human bladder cancer: molecular docking and in vitro screening

Introduction Bladder cancer is still of unknown initiation and progression, it is difficult to treat the patient once bladder cancer have a distant metastasis. Materials and methods In the present study, propolis extract was evaluated against bladder cancer cells (T24). Two independent pathways were investigated, apoptosis and angiogenesis, Bax, Bcl-2, P53, and caspase-3 for apoptosis, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor and protein kinase A as angiogenesis potential targets. Objectives Molecular docking studies will be conducted for the major known constituents of Egyptian propolis into apoptotic and angiogenic protein targets, to give better insights to the possible binding mode and interactions and investigate the ability of propolis constituents to target both apoptotic and angiogenic pathways. Results Propolis showed anti-proliferative activity against T24 cancer cell line, the IC50 value was 6.36 mu g/ml. Also significant effects of propolis on Bax, Bcl-2, P53, and caspase-3 were observed. Discussion These obtained results proved the ability of propolis to induce cell death. Also it has revealed noticeable effects on protein kinase A and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor. Conclusion The obtained results can encourage us to say that propolis extract can induce a programmed cell death in human bladder cancer cells, and also affect angiogenesis.

Automated summary

The propolis extract showed anti-proliferative activity against T24 cancer cells, with an IC50 value of 6.36 μg/ml. It also had significant effects on Bax, Bcl-2, P53, and caspase-3, inducing cell death. Furthermore, propolis demonstrated noticeable effects on protein kinase A and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, indicating its potential to affect angiogenesis.