Abstract 1400: Selective induction of apoptosis by aqueous extracts of Chinese medicinal herbs <i>Oldenlandia diffusa</i> (OD) and <i>Scutellaria barbata</i> (SB) in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma BxPC-3 cells and pancreatic ductal epithelial HPDE6c7 cells
Authors: Jessica Lee, Abby Shim, Ryan Hayes, Brian Yuen Yau Wong
Journal: Cancer Research (2025)

Abstract Oldenlandia diffusa (OD) and Scutellaria barbata (SB) have been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat liver, lung, and rectal tumors. They are used in most herbal cancer treatment formulas in hospitals in Taiwan. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal and aggressive human cancers with high mortality rates due to late prognosis. BxPC-3 is a human pancreatic cancer cell line derived from a 61-year-old female with adenocarcinoma while HPDE6c7 is a normal ductal epithelial cell line from the pancreatic duct of a 63-year-old female. Apoptosis is the body's programmed cell death process to combat the proliferation of cancer cells. We previously demonstrated that aqueous extracts of OD and SB selectively induced apoptosis in colon HCT-116 cancer cells but not in colon CCD 841 CoN normal epithelial cells by modulating the pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic protein expression. Induction of apoptosis and modulation of apoptotic proteins were also observed in BxPC-3 cells with OD and SB treatments. In this study, the effects of SB and OD on the selective induction and modulation of apoptosis in pancreatic adenocarcinoma BxPC-3 cells and HPDE6c7 normal pancreatic cells were assessed using the Apoptosis/Necrosis Detection Kit and Human Apoptosis Antibody Array-Membrane (43 Targets) test (Abcam). Our fluorescent apoptosis data demonstrates that 2 hours of 1.0 mg/mL OD treatment significantly induced apoptosis in BxPC-3 cells as compared to the negative control (79.95 ± 8.95% &amp;gt; 3.6 ± 1.4%); p&amp;lt;0.05, while there was no notable induction of apoptosis in normal HPDE6c7 cells (5.25 ± 4.25%). Most HPDE6c7 cells remained non-induced with OD treatment (94.0 ± 4.5%), comparable to the negative water control (98.75 ± 0.25%). A similar selective induction of apoptosis was obtained from the SB treatment in the BxPC-3 cell line as compared to the negative control (25 ± 8.5% &amp;gt; 3.6 ± 1.4%). There was no significant induction of apoptosis in the normal HPDE6c7 cell line treated with SB, similar to the negative control (1.75 ± 0.25% ≃ 1.25± 0.25%). From the antibody array-membrane experiments, modulation of apoptotic markers, such as the up-regulation of pro-apoptotic proteins CD40, CD40L, cytoC, and TRAILR-1 in BxPC-3 cells with OD treatment; and the upregulation of p53, Caspase 8, and HTRA in BxPC-3 cells with SB treatment was observed. Upregulation of various anti-apoptotic proteins was observed in HPDE6c7 cells. These results suggest that OD and SB contain phytochemicals that selectively induce apoptosis in BxPC-3 cancer cells by modulating certain apoptotic markers while not affecting normal HPDE6c7 cells. Further investigation into their specific effects on regulating apoptosis is warranted to uncover their potential as chemopreventive and therapeutic agents against pancreatic and other cancers. Citation Format: Jessica Lee, Abby Shim, Ryan Hayes, Brian Yuen Yau Wong. Selective induction of apoptosis by aqueous extracts of Chinese medicinal herbs Oldenlandia diffusa (OD) and Scutellaria barbata (SB) in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma BxPC-3 cells and pancreatic ductal epithelial HPDE6c7 cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_1):Abstract nr 1400.