Pharmacological anti-tumor effects of natural Chamaecyparis obtusa (siebold & zucc.) endl. Leaf extracts on breast cancer.

J Ethnopharmacol

Department of Pharmacology and Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea; Ischemic/Hypoxic Disease Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea; Biomedical Science Project (BK21PLUS), Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea; Neuro-Immune Information Storage Network Research Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea; Wide River Institute of Immunology, Seoul National University, Hongcheon, 25159, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

Published: September 2023

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Chamaecyparis obtusa (C. obtusa, cypress species) is a plant that grows mainly in the temperate Northern Hemisphere and has long been used as a traditional anti-inflammatory treatment in East Asia. C. obtusa contains phytoncides, flavonoids, and terpenes, which have excellent anti-cancer effects and have been reported to prevent the progression of various cancers. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying the anti-cancer effects of C. obtusa extracts are unknown.

Aim Of The Study: We sought to confirm the anti-cancer effects of C. obtusa leaf extracts and to reveal the mechanism of action, with the possibility of its application in the treatment or prevention of cancer.

Material &methods: The cytotoxicity of C. obtusa leaf extracts was confirmed using an MTT assay. Intracellular changes in protein levels were measured by immunoblotting, and mRNA levels were measured with qRT-PCR. Wound healing assay and transwell migration assay were used to evaluate the metastatic potential of breast cancer cells. The extract-induced apoptosis was observed using IncuCyte Annexin V Red staining analysis. A syngeneic breast cancer mouse model was established by injecting 4T1-Luc mouse breast cancer cells into the fat pad of female BALB/c mice, and the extract was administered orally. Luciferin solution was injected intraperitoneally to assess primary tumor development and metastasis by bioluminescence.

Results: C. obtusa leaf extracts were extracted with boiling water, 70% EtOH, and 99% EtOH. Among the extracts, the 99% EtOH extract of C. obtusa leaf (CO99EL) most clearly inhibited the tyrosine phosphorylation of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (pY-STAT3) in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells at a concentration of 25 and 50 μg/mL. In addition, CO99EL strongly inhibited not only endogenous pY-STAT3 levels but also IL-6-induced STAT3 activation in various types of cancer cells, including breast cancer. CO99EL inhibited metastatic potential by downregulating the expression of N-cadherin, fibronectin, TWIST, MMP2, and MMP9 in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. CO99EL also induced apoptotic cell death by increasing cleaved caspase-3 and decreasing anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. In an in vivo syngeneic breast cancer mouse model, 100 mg/kg CO99EL suppressed tumor growth and induced apoptosis of cancer cells. Moreover, CO99EL significantly inhibited lung metastasis from primary breast cancer.

Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that 100 mg/kg CO99EL has potent anti-tumor effects against breast cancer, thus suggesting that 100 mg/kg CO99EL has potential applications in the treatment and prevention of breast cancer.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2023.116598DOI Listing

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