What is arctiin?

Arctiin is a lignan derivative with antitumor activities acting as a potent inhibitor of HIV-I integrase and Topo II (DNA topoisomerase II).Arctiin down-regulates anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-XL. Arctiin has been shown to exhibit phytoestrogenic activity and is an antagonist for platelet activating factor and Ca2+.

What is the fuction of the arctiin?

Arctiin and arctigenin have shown anticancer effects. Arctiin induces growth inhibition and dephosphorylates the tumor-suppressor retinoblastoma protein in human immortalized keratinocyte HaCaT cells. We also show that the growth inhibition caused by arctiin is associated with the down-regulation of cyclin D1 protein expression. Furthermore, the arctiin-induced suppression of cyclin D1 protein expression occurs in various types of human tumor cells, including osteosarcoma, lung, colorectal, cervical and breast cancer, melanoma, transformed renal cells and prostate cancer. Depletion of the cyclin D1 protein using small interfering RNA-rendered human breast cancer MCF-7 cells insensitive to the growth inhibitory effects of arctiin, implicates cyclin D1 as an important target of arctiin. Taken together, these results suggest that arctiin down-regulates cyclin D1 protein expression and that this at least partially contributes to the anti-proliferative effect of arctiin. Arctiin dose dependently decreased the production of NO and proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha, and PGE2, and it reduced the gene and protein levels as determined by RT-PCR and western blot analysis, respectively. The expression of co-stimulatory molecules such as B7-1 and B7-2 were also inhibited by arctiin. Furthermore, the activation of the nuclear transcription factor, NF-kappaB in macrophages was inhibited by arctiin. Taken together these results provide evidence of the bioactivity of arctiin in inflammatory diseases and suggest that arctiin may exert anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the pro-inflammatory mediators through the inactivation of NF-kappaB.

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