%0 Journal Article
%T Antitumor activity and macrophage nitric oxide producing action of medicinal herb, Crassocephalum crepidioides
%A Koh Tomimori
%A Shinji Nakama
%A Ryuichiro Kimura
%A Kazumi Tamaki
%A Chie Ishikawa
%A Naoki Mori
%J BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1472-6882-12-78
%X The antitumor effect of C. crepidioides was evaluated in S-180-cell-bearing mice. Cell growth was assessed using a colorimetric assay. Nitrite and nitrate levels were measured by colorimetry. The expression levels of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in murine RAW264.7 macrophages was assessed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Activation of iNOS promoter was detected by reporter gene. Activation of nuclear factor-百B (NF-百B) was evaluated by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. The role of NF-百B signaling was analyzed using inhibitors of NF-百B and dominant-negative mutants, and Western blot analysis.C. crepidioides extract delayed tumor growth in S-180-bearing mice. However, it did not inhibit S-180 cell growth in vitro. Supernatant of cultured C. crepidioides-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages was cytotoxic to S-180 cells. This cytotoxicity was associated with nitric oxide (NO) production. NF-百B signaling pathway was crucial for the transcriptional activation of iNOS gene. Isochlorogenic acid, a component of C. crepidioides, induced NF-百B activation and iNOS expression.The results highlight the oncolytic and immunopotentiation properties of C. crepidioides mediated through NF-百B-induced release of NO from macrophages.
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/12/78/abstract