Antitumor effect and mechanism of Acetylshikonin on murine sarcoma 180 cells

Chemoprevention including the use of natural products is always used as one of the main treatments for advanced cancer, and has been under intense investigation. In the present study, we investigated the inhibitory effect and mechanism of acetylshikonin on murine sarcoma 180 cells. The results showed acetylshikonin could inhibit the proliferation of sarcoma 180 cells and had obvious dose-effect relationship. The characteristics of cell apoptosis such as nuclear pyknosis and chromatin condensation were observed in treated sarcoma 180 cells. Significant antitumor effects of acetylshikonin treatments in mice bearing sarcoma 180 solid tumor were observed. Furthermore, the Bcl-2 expression was decreased, whereas the expression level of Bax and Caspase 3 expression up-regulated in treated groups. Our data suggest that acetylshikonin is an attractive candidate for cancer therapy although further studies are clearly needed to prove the possibility.