Luteolin inhibits cell proliferation during Azoxymethane-induced experimental colon carcinogenesis via Wnt/β-catenin pathway

The protective role of Luteolin (LUT) against Azoxymethane (AOM)-induced mouse colon carcinogenesis has been documented earlier. The aim of this study is to investigate on the mechanism of chemopreventive action exhibited by LUT employing AOM-induced colon carcinogenesis in mice as an experimental model. LUT inhibited AOM-induced colon tumorigenesis by decreasing tumor incidence and size. LUT reduced the cell proliferation by decreasing the number of Argyrophillic nucleolar organizer region (AgNOR)/nucleus and Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA) index. It was known that beta-catenin is a key effector in Wingless and Int (Wnt) signaling pathway and 90% of colon tumors arise from mutations in this pathway. In this study, we show evidence that LUT inhibited colon carcinogenesis by decreasing AOM-induced cell proliferation through the involvement of beta-catenin, Glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3 beta and cyclin D1, the key components in Wnt signaling pathway. In conclusion, the protective effect of LUT could be attributed to inhibition of AOM-induced cellular proliferation probably through the involvement of beta-catenin, GSK-3 beta and cyclin D1.