Tubeimoside-1 (TBMS1) inhibits lung cancer cell growth and induces cells apoptosis through activation of MAPK-JNK pathway.

Tubeimoside-1 (TBMS1) is a natural compound isolated from tubeimoside, which has anti-tumor properties in some cancer cells, but its mechanisms are unclear. In the present study, we determined if TBMS1 would inhibit cell growth of human lung cancer cell lines. We found that TBMS1 inhibited growth in A549 and PC9 human lung cancer cell. Flow cytometry revealed TBMS1 arrested the cells in the G2/M phase and induced cell apoptosis. Furthermore, results from Western blotting and real-time PCR indicated that decreased the cell proliferation and cell growth-associated protein levels, such as p21, p15 and cyclin B1, TBMS1 up-regulated proapoptotic bax and cleavage of procaspase-3, down-regulated antiapoptotic Mcl-1 and cIAP-1, but did not change expression of PARP and procaspase-8. And TBMS1 also found to increase the phosphorylation, of JNK and p38, suggesting TBMS1 could activate the MAPK-JNK signaling pathway. Luciferase reporter assay revealed that TBMS1 reduced the promoter activity of AP-1, NF-κB and TNFα. In addition, TBMS1 caused the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These results provide evidence that TBMS1 may have potential as a novel anti-cancer agent for the treatment of lung cancer. TBMS1 inhibited cell proliferation may through MAPK-JNK signaling pathway.