Isoliquiritigenin-Induced Differentiation in Mouse Melanoma B16F0 Cell Line

Abstract EN

The chemotherapeutical treatment is very limited for malignant melanoma, a highly lethal disease occurs globally.

Natural products derived from traditional Chinese medicine licorice are attractive in quest new treatments due to their anti-tumor activities.

A new dietary flavonoid isoliquiritigenin (ISL) were thus investigated to indentify its anti-melanoma activities on mouse melanoma B16F0 cells in present study.

Using biochemical and free radical biological experiments in vitro, we identified the pro-differentiated profiles of ISL and evaluated the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during B16F0 cell differentiation.

The data showed a strong dose-response relationship between ISL exposure and the characteristics of B16F0 differentiation in terms of morphology changes and melanogenesis.

The accumulated intercellular ROS during exposure are necessary to support ISL-induced differentiation, which was proven by additional redox modulators.

It was confirmed further by the relative activities of enzymes and genes modulated melanogenesis in ISL-treatments with or without ROS modulators.

The tumorigenicity of ISL-treated cells was limited significantly by using the colony formation assay in vitro and an animal model assay in vivo respectively.

Our research demonstrated that isoliquiritigenin is a differentiation-inducing agent, and its mechanisms involve ROS accumulation facilitating melanogenesis.