A Dihydroxy-pentamethoxyflavone from Gardenia obtusifolia suppresses proliferation and promotes apoptosis of tumor cells through modulation of multiple cell signaling pathways.

We sought to determine the molecular basis for the anticancer activities of 5,3'-dihydroxy-3,6,7,8,4'-pentamethoxyflavone (DH-PMF), isolated from Gardenia obtusifolia traditionally used in Thailand for a variety of ailments. As little as 1 μM DH-PMF inhibited the proliferation of prostate, colon, kidney, lung, head and neck, pancreas, breast, leukemia, and myeloma cancer cell lines. DH-PMF also suppressed the colony-forming ability of tumor cells, with 50% inhibition occurring at a dose less than 10 nM. DH-PMF induced G(2)/M and subG(1) cell cycle arrest, increased the levels of p21(WAF1/CIP1) and p27(KIP1), and reduced the expression of cyclin D1, CDC2, and c-MYC. Furthermore, DH-PMF inhibited AKT and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3β) activation, reduced cell survival proteins, and induced apoptosis, as indicated by annexin V staining, TUNEL assay, and activation of caspase-8, -9 and -3. Overall, our results demonstrate that DH-PMF induces suppression of cell proliferation through modulation of AKT-GSK3β pathways and induction of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors.