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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Commodity Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #366917
Research Project: Increasing the Value of Cottonseed

Location: Commodity Utilization Research

Title: Gossypol decreased cell viability and down-regulated the expression of a number of genes in human colon cancer cells

Author
item Cao, Heping
item Sethumadhavan, Kandan
item CAO, FANGPING - Beijing Forestry University
item Wang, Thomas - Tom

Submitted to: Scientific Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/21/2021
Publication Date: 3/15/2021
Citation: Cao, H., Sethumadhavan, K., Cao, F., Wang, T.T.Y. 2021. Gossypol decreased cell viability and down-regulated the expression of a number of genes in human colon cancer cells. Scientific Reports. 11:5922. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84970-8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84970-8

Interpretive Summary: Cottonseed accounts for approximately 20% of the crop value. One way to increase the value of cottonseed is to isolate bioactive compounds aimed to improving nutrition and preventing diseases. The presence of toxic polyphenolic compound gossypol in the seeds limits its use as food and feed source for humans and non-ruminant animals. On the other hand, recent studies have shown that gossypol has potential biomedical applications. This may significantly increase cottonseed value by using gossypol from the seeds as a health intervention agent. However, it is necessary to insure safety and effectiveness of gossypol as well as the underlining molecular mechanisms before human consumption. Therefore, in this study, human colon cancer cells were treated with multiple concentrations of gossypol. MTT assay showed significant inhibitory effect under high concentration and longtime treatment. We then analyzed the expression of 55 genes in colon cancer cells. The results showed that gossypol inhibited cell growth with suppression of the expression of a number of genes in the colon cancer cells.

Technical Abstract: Plant polyphenol gossypol has anticancer activities. This may increase cottonseed value by using gossypol as a health intervention agent. It is necessary to understand its molecular mechanisms before human consumption. The aim was to uncover the effects of gossypol on cell viability and gene expression in cancer cells. In this study, human colon cancer cells (COLO 225) were treated with gossypol. MTT assay showed significant inhibitory effect under high concentration and longtime treatment. We analyzed the expression of 55 genes at the mRNA level in the cells; many of them are regulated by gossypol or ZFP36/TTP in cancer cells. BCL2 mRNA was the most stable among the 55 mRNAs analyzed in human colon cancer cells. GAPDH and RPL32 mRNAs were not good qPCR references for the colon cancer cells. Gossypol decreased the mRNA levels of DGAT, GLUT, TTP, IL families and a number of previously reported genes. In particular, gossypol suppressed the expression of genes coding for mRNAs of CLAUDIN1, ELK1, FAS, GAPDH, IL2, IL8 and ZFAND5 mRNAs, but enhanced the expression of the gene coding for GLUT3 mRNA. The results showed that gossypol inhibited cell survival with decreased expression of a number of genes in the colon cancer cells.