Journal
THERANOSTICS
Volume 10, Issue 17, Pages 7906-7920Publisher
IVYSPRING INT PUBL
DOI: 10.7150/thno.45191
Keywords
Capsaicin; MKK3-p38; nasopharyngeal carcinoma; FUK; cell mobility
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [81773019, 81372149]
- Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province [2019A1515010210]
- Science and Technology Program of Guangdong Province in China [2017B030301016]
- Shenzhen Municipal Government of China [JCYJ20180507182427559, GJHZ20180418190559891, JCYJ20160427105140594, JCYJ20170817100210291]
- SZU medical young scientists program
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background: Capsaicin is an active compound found in plants of the Capsicum genus; it has a range of therapeutic benefits, including anti-tumor effects. Here we aimed to delineate the inhibitory effects of capsaicin on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: The anti-cancer effects of capsaicin were confirmed in NPC cell lines and xenograft mouse models, using CCK-8, clonogenic, wound-healing, transwell migration and invasion assays. Co-immunoprecipitation, western blotting and pull-down assays were used to determine the effects of capsaicin on the MKK3-p38 axis. Cell proliferation and EMT marker expression were monitored in MKK3 knockdown (KD) or over-expression NPC cell lines treated with or without capsaicin. Finally, immunohistochemistry was performed on NPC specimens from NPC patients (n = 132) and the clinical relevance was analyzed. Results: Capsaicin inhibited cell proliferation, mobility and promoted apoptosis in NPC cells. Then we found that capsaicin directly targets p38 for dephosphorylation. As such, MKK3-induced p38 activation was inhibited by capsaicin. Furthermore, we found that capsaicin-induced inhibition of cell motility was mediated by fucokinase. Xenograft models demonstrated the inhibitory effects of capsaicin treatment on NPC tumor growth in vivo, and analysis of clinical NPC samples confirmed that MKK3 phosphorylation was associated with NPC tumor growth and lymphoid node metastasis. Conclusions: The MKK3-p38 axis represents a potential therapeutic target for capsaicin. MKK3 phosphorylation might serve as a biomarker to identify NPC patients most likely to benefit from adjunctive capsaicin treatment.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available