Ethnopharmacological CommunicationHypoxia affects cellular responses to plant extracts

Ethnopharmacological relevanceMicroenvironmental conditions contribute towards varying cellular responses to plant extract treatments. Hypoxic cancer cells are known to be resistant to radio- and chemo-therapy. New therapeutic strategies specifically targeting these cells are needed. Plant extracts used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can offer promising candidates. Despite their widespread usage, information on their effects in hypoxic conditions is still lacking. In this study, we examined the cytotoxicity of a series of known TCM plant extracts under normoxic versus hypoxic conditions.Materials and methodsPereskia grandifolia, Orthosiphon aristatus, Melastoma malabathricum, Carica papaya, Strobilanthes crispus, Gynura procumbens, Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides, Pereskia bleo and Clinacanthus nutans leaves were dried, blended into powder form, extracted in methanol and evaporated to produce crude extracts. Human Saos-2 osteosarcoma cells were treated with various concentrations of the plant extracts under normoxia or hypoxia (0.5% oxygen). 24 h after treatment, an MTT assay was performed and the IC50 values were calculated. Effect of the extracts on hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) activity was evaluated using a hypoxia-driven firefly luciferase reporter assay.ResultsThe relative cytotoxicity of each plant extract on Saos-2 cells was different in hypoxic versus normoxic conditions. Hypoxia increased the IC50 values for Pereskia grandifola and Orthosiphon aristatus extracts, but decreased the IC50 values for Melastoma malabathricum and Carica papaya extracts. Extracts of Strobilanthes crispus, Gynura procumbens, Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides had equivalent cytotoxic effects under both conditions. Pereskia bleo and Clinacanthus nutans extracts were not toxic to cells within the concentration ranges tested. The most interesting result was noted for the Carica papaya extract, where its IC50 in hypoxia was reduced by 3-fold when compared to the normoxic condition. This reduction was found to be associated with HIF inhibition.ConclusionHypoxia variably alters the cytotoxic effects of TCM plant extracts on cancer cells. Carica papaya showed enhanced cytotoxic effect on hypoxic cancer cells by inhibiting HIF activities. These findings provide a plausible approach to killing hypoxic cancer cells in solid tumors.

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