Background
Cancer is a multifactorial disease that requires a multi-targeted therapeutic approach [
1,
2]. Chemotherapy has undergone a gradual transition from mono-substance therapy toward multidrug therapy, and drug cocktails strategy has become widely adopted. Properly formulated drug combinations are believed to enhance synergy, and interactions of chemical components within the combination may improve therapeutic efficacy over single drugs [
3‐
6]. Botanical medicines are generally plentiful, low cost, and relatively non-toxic in clinical practice, and in many cases plant extracts are thought to be therapeutically superior to their single isolated constituents [
7,
8]. Therefore, botanical medicines are increasingly combined with chemical medicines in anticancer drug cocktails, especially in countries where botanical medicines are well-accepted [
9,
10]. Some studies have suggested that for cancer treatment, drug cocktails combining botanical and chemical medicines may exhibit enhanced efficacies with diminished side effects and complications [
11‐
13].
Taxus cuspidata (TC), also called Japanese yew, is an evergreen tree with anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities [
14‐
16]. While
TC is scarce as a natural resource, artificial cuttage is reproducible and makes
TC needles and twigs constantly available. DaKeSu, a
TC extract of
TC needles and twigs produced by artificial cuttage, has been under preclinical and clinical investigation in China as a botanical medicinal product [
17,
18]. Chinese language sources have reported animal-based and preclinical studies showing DaKeSu activity against breast, lung, and digestive tract cancers [
17,
18], but the anticancer spectrum and mechanism of the extract have not been studied in detail.
5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is one of the most commonly used drugs for treatment of breast, digestive tract, and other cancers [
19‐
21]. It is often used clinically in combination with other agents such as paclitaxel, docetaxel, and cisplatin [
22‐
24]. A few studies have shown synergistic effects of combinations of 5-FU with botanical medicines or components thereof. For example, oroxylin A, a bioactive
Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi flavonoid, has synergistic effect with 5-FU on HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma and on H
22 transplanted mice [
25]. Chan-Yu-Bao-Yuan-Tang, an herbal medicine formula, induced apoptosis synergistically with 5-FU in lung and cervical cancer cells [
26]. Though botanical medicines and 5-FU are both commonly used in clinical practice, there have been far fewer studies combining 5-FU and botanical medicines than on 5-FU or botanical medicines alone.
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the efficacy of the extract of TC needles and twigs produced by artificial cuttage as a source of useful anticancer agents and the co-efficacy at the cellular level of a cocktail combining TC extract and 5-FU. We also assessed whether TC extract would influence the pharmacokinetics of 5-FU in animals. These results show the utility for identifying herb-chemotherapeutic drug combinations.
Methods
Reagents, cell lines, and animals
5-FU (99.9% purity) was purchased from Shanghai Bangcheng Chemical Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China). The TC extract was kindly provided by China Hongdoushan Tech. Co., Ltd. (Heilongjiang, China). HPLC-grade methanol and acetonitrile were purchased from Fisher Scientfic (Fair Lawn, NJ, USA).
The human cancer cell lines, MCF-7 (breast), PG and A549 (lung), PC-3M-1E8 (prostate), BGC-823 (gastric), WM451 (melanoma), Bel-7402 (hepatocellular), KB (oral squamous), HeLa (cervical), and HL-60 (leukemic), and the normal cells, mouse spleen T lymphocytes (T cells), mouse spleen B lymphocytes (B cells), and a human embryonic lung cell line (HEL), were kindly provided by the Department of Pathology, Peking University Health Science Center. The cells were maintained in RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (Gibco, Carlsbad, CA), 100 IU/ml penicillin and 100 IU/ml streptomycin in 5% CO2 humidified atmosphere at 37°C.
Ten male Sprague-Dawley rats (6-7 weeks old, 200-250 g) were purchased from Vital River (Beijing, China). Five rats in the control group received physiological saline orally (20 ml/kg b.i.d. for 8 days), and the other 5 rats in the TC extract-pretreated group received a suspension of TC extract orally (0.25 g/kg b.i.d. for 8 days). After the 8-day treatment period, both groups of rats received 5-FU (48 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection after a 12-h fast. All animals were maintained according to the international guidelines for care and use of laboratory animals and all experimental procedures involving animals were approved by the Ethics Committee of Beijing Normal University (BNU/EC/01/2011).
For HPLC fingerprinting, TC extract was dissolved in methanol and filtered through membrane filters (0.45 μm pore size). A Waters HPLC system equipped with a 1525 pump and a 2487 UV detector (Waters, USA) was used. A C18 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm, Kromasil) was used as the solid phase, the mobile phase consisted of CH3CN-water (50:50, v/v) (A) and CH3CN-water (15:85, v/v) (B), and the elution gradient profile was as follows: 0-15 min, 0% A; 15-20 min, 10% A; 20-40 min, 25% A; 40-60 min, 40% A; 60-80 min, 50% A; 80 min, 100% A. The flow rate was 0.8 ml/min, the column temperature was room temperature, the injection volume was kept at 10 μl; the scan wavelength was set from 190 to 370 nm, and the detection wavelength was set at 227 nm.
Cell viability assay
The cell viability was evaluated for both cancer and normal cell lines by MTT assay on 96-well plates [
27] or ATP assay on 384-well plates as previously described [
28]. For the MTT assay, cells were seeded on 96-well plates at 4 × 10
4 cells/ml over night. Then cells were treated with 10 μg/ml
TC extract for 72 h. 10 μl of a 5 mg/ml MTT solution was added to each well and the plate was incubated at 37°C for 4 h. Subsequently, 100 μl 0.1% NH
4Cl and 10% dodecyl phenyl sodium sulfonate solution was added to each well, and the plates were incubated overnight at 37°C. Absorbance was detected using a Victor
3 V Multilabel reader (PerkinElmer, USA) with the filter set to 570 nm (reference wavelength 650 nm). The ATP assay used the CellTiter-Glo
® Luminescent Cell Viability Assay kit (Madison, WI, USA). Briefly, cells were seeded on 384-well plates at 2 × 10
4 cells/ml over night. Various concentrations of single 5-FU, single
TC extract or combination (1:1) in the same volume (0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, 10, 30,100, 300 μg/ml) were added and the plates were incubated at 37°C for 72 h. The detection protocol included the addition of 10 μl of the working solution of the ATP kit to each well. The luminescence of each well was measured using a Victor
3 V Multilabel reader (PerkinElmer, USA).
Histology and immunohistochemistry
Cells were cultured in chamber slides on 6-well plates at 5 × 105 cells/ml and allowed to attach overnight, followed by treatment with 10 μg/ml TC extract for 24 h. Cells were washed with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), fixed with freshly prepared ice-cold 4% paraformaldehyde, and then stained with H & E (St. Louis, MO, USA). Cells were observed using a Leica DM-RXA microscope.
Cells were treated with TC extract for 24 h, harvested by trypsinization, washed twice with PBS, and fixed for 1 h in 1% paraformaldehyde. After RNase treatment, the cells were adjusted to a density of 1 × 106 cells/ml, and then stained with PI (St. Louis, MO, USA). Immunofluorescent images were acquired using a Leica TCSNT confocal microscopy.
TUNEL staining was performed using an Apo-Direct kit (San Diego, USA) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Briefly, cells were cultured in chamber slides on 6-well plates at 5 × 105 cells/ml over night. Then cells were treated with 10 μg/ml TC extract for 24 h. The cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde for 60 min at room temperature, washed 3 times with PBS, permeabilized with 0.1% Triton X-100 in 0.1% sodium citrate, and then rinsed with PBS. Cells were stained with 50 μl TUNEL reaction mixtures at 37°C for 60 min and washed with PBS. Afterwards, the cells were viewed using an optical microscope.
Annexin V/PI Assay
Annexin V/PI assay was determined using the Annexin-V FITC Staining kit (Beijing Biosea Biotechnology Co., LTD, China) in combination with propidium iodide, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Briefly, cells were cultured in T25 flasks at a density of 5 × 105 cells/ml and allowed to attach overnight, followed by treatment with 10 μg/ml TC extract for 48 h. Cells were washed with PBS and incubated with Annexin-V FITC labeling solution (containing 10 μl Annexin-V- FITC labeling reagent in 300 μl incubation buffer) for 15 min at room temperature and then added 5 μl propidium iodide solution. Analysis was carried out by flow cytometry (FACS Calibur, Becton-Dickinson, USA) and confocal microscopy (Leica, Germany).
Flow cytometry analysis
Cells were cultured in T25 flasks at a density of 5 × 106 cells/ml and treated with a series of different concentrations of TC extract (0, 1.67, 4.16, 8.33, 33.33, and 66.67 μg/ml) for 24 h. The cells were harvested by trypsinization and washed twice with PBS. For cell cycle and apoptosis assays, cells were fixed gently in cold 70% ethanol at 4°C overnight and then re-suspended in PBS with 0.1 mg/ml RNAse A and 0.1% Triton X-100 and incubated at 37°C for 30 min. The cell cycle phase and presence of apoptotic nuclei were determined by staining with PI. Flow cytometry analyses were performed using a FACSCalibur instrument and CellQuest software (Becton Dickinson, USA).
Pharmacokinetic study
Blood samples (0.5 ml) were collected from the retro-orbital plexus of rats under light ether anaesthesia into heparinized tubes at 0, 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 240 min after dosing with 5-FU. Blood samples were centrifuged at 7000 rpm for 5 min. Drug-containing plasma (200 μl), 200 μl (1 mg/ml) internal standard (IS) solution, and 600 μl methanol were added to a 2-ml centrifuge tube for the assay. The sample was shaken for 1 min using a vortex mixer and then extracted with ethyl acetate/isopropanol (9:1, v/v). The mixture was then centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5 min, and the upper layer was pipetted into a clean 5-ml centrifuge glass tube. The sample was then extracted twice more in the same way. The supernatant was mixed and evaporated to dryness under nitrogen at 40°C. The dried residues were reconstituted in 200 μl of methyl cyanide/methanol (75:25, v/v), vortex-mixed for 10 s, and centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5 min, and the supernatant was analyzed by HPLC.
The plasma concentrations of 5-FU were determined by HPLC. The HPLC system comprised a 1525 pump and 2487 UV detector (Waters, USA). An Atlantis DC C18 column (3 μm, 30 mm × 2.1 mm, Waters, USA) was used. The mobile phase consisted of 10 mM ammonium acetate in water (A) and acetonitrile (B). The gradient program was linearly increased from 10% B to 80% B in the first 2 min, held for 2 min, and then returned to 10% B. The flow rate was 0.2 ml/min. The end time of the program was set at 6 min. and the detection wavelength was 254 nm [
29].
Combination index (CI) for determining synergism additivity or antagonism
The combined effects of
TC extract and 5-FU were subjected to median effect analysis with the mutually nonexclusive model as previously described [
30]. The combination index (CI) for determining synergism and antagonism between the substances was calculated using Calcusyn1 software (ver 1.1.1, 1996; Biosoft Inc., Cambridge, UK). CI < 1, CI = 1, and CI > 1 indicated synergism, additivity, and antagonism, respectively. The results by ATP assay were analyzed for CI determination.
Statistical analysis
The significance of differences between values was estimated by using a one-way ANOVA. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Discussion
In this study, we evaluated the anticancer activity of TC extract from the needles and twigs of TC, alone and in combination with 5-FU, in vitro. The pharmacokinetic interactions were further explored in rats. This study found that TC extract had a strong cytotoxicity to the 10 common human cancer cell lines (BGC-823, PG, WM451, Bel-7402, KB, HeLa, HL-60, MCF-7, A549, and PC-3M-1E8), which shown that it had broad-spectrum anticancer activity in vitro. Besides, it exhibited low toxicity to normal cells (mouse splenic T/B lymphocytes and HEL cells). TC extract inhibited cancer cell growth by inducing apoptosis and G2/M arrest. Moreover, the combination of TC extract with 5-FU showed higher inhibition in a number of human cancer cell lines (A549, MCF-7, and PC-3M-1E8) and lower cytotoxicity in normal cells (HEL). In addition, the pharmacokinetics of 5-FU were not affected by combination with TC extract. In summary, the effect of combining TC extract with 5-FU on cell growth inhibition was synergistic in cancer cells and antagonistic in normal cells. This cocktail may therefore have great pharmaceutical potential.
TC is one of the most extensively studied yew species, and more than 150 taxanes and other compounds have been reported [
34]. Paclitaxel, one component of
TC, is a popular anticancer drug used in clinical practice to treat ovarian, breast, and other carcinomas [
23,
31]. As an antimitotic agent, it induces cell apoptosis and G
2/M arrest. In our study, HPLC fingerprinting identified 7 main taxoids in addition to paclitaxel in the extract. It has been reported that some of the taxoids found in the extract, such as baccatin III, 10-DAB, and cephalomannine, also interact with microtubules and inhibit the microtubule depolymerization process [
14,
23]. These could also inhibit human cancer cell growth as antimitotic agents. Therefore, the taxoids in
TC extract may combine to kill human cancer cells by apoptosis and G
2/M arrest.
Kano
et al. [
35] found that different sequences of paclitaxel and 5-FU administration had different efficacies and toxicities. For example, treatment with paclitaxel preceding 5-FU produced additive or synergistic cytotoxicity
in vitro, while simultaneous exposure to paclitaxel and 5-FU showed mainly subadditive effects in A549, MCF-7, and WiDr cell lines. This is in contrast to our results, which demonstrated that the cocktail of
TC and 5-FU had a synergistic anticancer effect in A549, MCF-7, and PC-3M-1E8 cells. One possible explanation for this discrepancy is different exposure times: in the experiment conducted by Kano
et al., the cell lines were exposed to paclitaxel and 5-FU for 24 h, while we treated for 72 h. The prolonged simultaneous administration of paclitaxel and 5-FU may restrain the antagonistic interaction [
35]. The difference may also be due to the other taxoids besides paclitaxel found in
TC extract. It has been reported that simultaneous treatment with docetaxel (an analog of paclitaxel) and 5-FU resulted in synergistic tumor inhibition in colon carcinoma xenografts in mice [
36].
Interaction of herbals with drugs may also bring about changes in the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties. Pharmacodynamic interactions may occur when a conventional drug has either synergistic or antagonist activity in relation to constituents of herbal products. Pharmacokinetic interactions are due to alteration of absorption, distribution, metabolism, or elimination of a conventional drug by an herbal product. The interaction may also increase/decrease the desired pharmacological effects of the drug [
37,
38]. For example, in the clinical trials, the effectiveness of haloperidol was enhanced when combined with
Ginkgo biloba because of its antioxidant effects [
37]. While some herbal products such as garlic and St John's Wort would decrease the effectiveness of a variety of prescription medications used to treat some cancers, AIDS, heart disease and organtransplant patients [
38].
The side effects of anticancer agents are a serious problem in cancer chemotherapy and an effective anticancer approach with potent activity and minimal side effects is highly desirable [
15]. It is well known that some of the side effects of 5-FU are gastrointestinal such as nausea, vomiting, and myelosuppression. The association between toxicity and high 5-FU plasma levels has been reported since the late 1970s [
39‐
41]. Studies have shown that marked elevation and prolongation of 5-FU levels in the plasma would increase toxicity of 5-FU [
29,
40,
41]. Pharmacokinetic data can be used to predict the likelihood of an interaction between the
TC extract and 5-FU. Our results indicated that
TC extract did not affect the pharmacokinetics of 5-FU in rats. Furthermore, at the cellular level, the cocktail had lower cytotoxicity in normal cells despite a synergistic anticancer effect. Therefore, as a cocktail, combination of 5-FU with
TC extract may show a possibility for enhancing the efficacy. Still, the exact mechanisms of the effects need to be further researched in our study, such as drug-metabolizing enzymes and drug transporter systems involved.
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in men and women worldwide. Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women and affects approximately one million women. Prostate cancer is one of the most prevalent types of cancer in men. To expand future possiblity of the cocktail used in clinic, we chose these common and prevalent cancer cell lines for the study of combined treatment. And we found that the cytotoxic effect of the combined
TC extract with 5-FU was strongly synergistic in the three cancer cell lines (lung cancer - A549, breast cancer-MCF-7, and prostate cancer - PC-3M-1E8). Other advantages of
TC extract are that
TC needles and twigs can be obtained from artificial cuttage, making the extract constantly available, easy to prepare and inexpensive. In contrast, the extremely small quantity of paclitaxel in
TC [
31,
42] makes purified paclitaxel rather expensive, which limits its use, particularly in developing countries.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
WHS carried out synergistic effect experiments, required added experiment and drafted the original manuscript. JPQ designed and carried out the pharmacokinetic experiments and drafted the original manuscript. CXG carried out the pharmacokinetic experiments and helped draft the original manuscript. WY carried out extract identification experiments. JLD performed the statistical analysis. WW carried out anticancer activities experiments. MLZ carried out the pharmacokinetic experiments. WDL made substantial contributions to conception. MH designed the study, performed mechanistic experiments and coordination and finalized the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.