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Shikonin Directly Targets Mitochondria and Causes Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Cancer Cells

Authors :
Thomas Efferth
Benjamin Wiench
Malte Paulsen
Tolga Eichhorn
Source :
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Vol 2012 (2012), Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine : eCAM
Publication Year :
2012
Publisher :
Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2012.

Abstract

Chemotherapy is a mainstay of cancer treatment. Due to increased drug resistance and the severe side effects of currently used therapeutics, new candidate compounds are required for improvement of therapy success. Shikonin, a natural naphthoquinone, was used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of different inflammatory diseases and recent studies revealed the anticancer activities of shikonin. We found that shikonin has strong cytotoxic effects on 15 cancer cell lines, including multidrug-resistant cell lines. Transcriptome-wide mRNA expression studies showed that shikonin induced genetic pathways regulating cell cycle, mitochondrial function, levels of reactive oxygen species, and cytoskeletal formation. Taking advantage of the inherent fluorescence of shikonin, we analyzed its uptake and distribution in live cells with high spatial and temporal resolution using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Shikonin was specifically accumulated in the mitochondria, and this accumulation was associated with a shikonin-dependent deregulation of cellular Ca2+and ROS levels. This deregulation led to a breakdown of the mitochondrial membrane potential, dysfunction of microtubules, cell-cycle arrest, and ultimately induction of apoptosis. Seeing as both the metabolism and the structure of mitochondria show marked differences between cancer cells and normal cells, shikonin is a promising candidate for the next generation of chemotherapy.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1741427X
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....b343edc436e4f2fa8b2036578e143d70
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/726025