Deguelin-induced inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 expression in human bronchial epithelial cells

The increased expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 significantly enhances carcinogenesis and inflammatory reactions, and its regulation may be a reasonable target for cancer chemoprevention. We demonstrated previously that deguelin inhibits proliferation of premalignant human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells, such as 1799 cells and squamous HBE cells, by regulating phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase Akt activity, which is involved in COX-2 expression. We sought to determine the effect of deguelin on COX-2 expression in squamous HBE cells. Deguelin strongly inhibited COX-2 expression in squamous HBE cells, without affecting the COX-1 protein level. Deguelin inhibited proliferation of a variety of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) cell lines through apoptosis and induced Bax expression in the H322 NSCLC and squamous HBE cells. Deguelin treatment did not affect Bcl-2 protein levels but increased expression levels of the proapoptotic protein p53 and the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p21 and p27 in the squamous HBE cells. The sensitivity of the squamous HBE and NSCLC cells to deguelin and the inhibitory effects of deguelin on COX-2 expression in the squamous HBE cells indicate that regulation of COX-2 expression is involved in the chemopreventive action of deguelin in lung cancer.