Diosmetin Induces Apoptosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells

Acute myeloid leukemia is an aggressive disease with limited and nonselective therapeutic options. This study explored the bioactivity and cell death inducing mechanism of diosmetin, a novel compound identified in a nutraceutical screen to impart selective anti-AML activity. Diosmetin, a citrus flavone, induced apoptosis characterized by increases in caspases 8 and 3/7 and the death inducing cytokine TNF alpha. In fact, through protein and mRNA expression analysis, activity was shown to be dependent on expression of estrogen receptor (ER) beta. Treatment with diosmetin also delayed tumor growth in AML mouse xenografts. In summary, these studies highlight diosmetin as a novel therapeutic that induces apoptosis through estrogen receptor beta.