Anticancer effects of Qizhen Capsule in human colorectal cancer cells in vitro and in vivo

Qizhen capsule is a new type of anti‐cancer traditional Chinese medicine preparation. As an adjuvant therapy for cancer, it has been widely used in clinical practice with remarkable therapeutic effects in clinic. According to the current research reports, Qizhen capsule is mainly used for the treatment of lung, gastric and breast cancer. However, whether Qizhen capsule has an inhibitory effect on colorectal cancer has not been reported, and the specific molecular mechanism of its anti‐tumor activity has not been well studied. In this study, the effect of Qizhen capsule water extracts on the proliferation and apoptosis of human colon cancer HCT116 cells was studied in vitro and in vivo. MTT assay revealed that Qizhen capsule at 0.3 to 0.7 mg/ml significantly inhibited proliferation of HCT116 cells in a dose‐and time‐dependent manner. Furthermore, Qizhen capsule water extracts induced apoptosis in HCT116 cells that determined by flow cytometric, which is associated with deregulation of the expression of key genes and proteins (Bcl‐2, Bax, PARP, caspase‐3 and caspase‐9) that regulate apoptosis. Moreover, oral administration of 4.5 g/kg and combination treatment of 1.5 g/kg Qizhen capsule and 5‐Fu significantly inhibited HCT116 xenograft tumor growth in nude mice by reducing HIF‐1α, Bcl‐2, NF‐κB and c‐FOS at mRNA levels, and up‐regulating PARP, FoxO3a and NAG‐1 at protein levels, which was further confirmed by suppressed Ki‐67, caspase‐3, Bcl‐2 and PCNA staining in tumor samples as determined by immunochemistry. Taken together, our study suggests that Qizhen capsule could inhibit the development of colorectal cancer by inhibiting cell proliferation, inducing cell apoptosis, and suppressing tumor growth. These results also suggest that Qizhen capsule may be a promising anticancer drug for the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer.Support or Funding InformationNational Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81473397).This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.