IMR Press / FBL / Volume 27 / Issue 4 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2704137
Open Access Original Research
Piperine: An Anticancer and Senostatic Drug
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1 Department of Biochemistry, Chonnam National University Medical School, 58128 Jeonnam-do, Republic of Korea
2 Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Chonnam National University, 61186 Gwangju, Republic of Korea
3 Research center, Medispan Co., Ltd. 13486 Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
4 Korea Bioactive Natural Material Bank, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, 08826 Seoul, Republic of Korea
5 Division of Life Sciences, College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, Incheon National University, 22012 Incheon, Republic of Korea
6 The Future Life & Society Research Center, Advanced Institute of Aging Science, Chonnam National University, 61469 Gwangju, Republic of Korea
*Correspondence: dr.jslim7542@gmail.com (Jae Sung Lim); kacho@jnu.ac.kr (Kyung A Cho)
Academic Editor: Amancio Carnero Moya
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2022, 27(4), 137; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2704137
Submitted: 27 December 2021 | Revised: 30 March 2022 | Accepted: 31 March 2022 | Published: 20 April 2022
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: Cancer is a representative geriatric disease closely related to senescent cells and cell aging in tissues. Senescent cells that surround cancer tissues reduce the effects of various cancer treatments and induce cancer recurrence through senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) secretion. Thus, for good therapeutic effect, candidate drugs should be selective for both cancer and senescent cells. In this study, we investigated the selective effect of piperine as a potential senostatic agent as well as an anticancer drug. Methods: The effect of piperine on cytotoxicity and cell proliferation was tested by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) or water-soluble tetrazolium salt (WST) assay. The levels of p16INK4a and p21, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) were analyzed by Western blot analysis. The rejuvenation effects of piperine on the senescent cells were investigated by senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) stain, mitochondria membrane potential (MMP) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) secretion after treatment with piperine in senescent cells. Results: While piperine induced high cytotoxicity in various cancer cell lines, it led to proliferating of premature senescent cells similar with nicotinamide (NA), which is known as a rejuvenating drug of senescent cells. Piperine differently affected cancer cells and premature senescent cells due to the different responses of intracellular signaling pathways and also reversed premature senescence phenotypes and modulated SASP secretion in premature senescent cells. Conclusions: From these results, we propose piperine as an effective cancer treatment that can simultaneously induce senostatic effects and the removal of cancer cells, not as an adjuvant to the existing senostatics for cancer treatment.

Keywords
senescence
senostatic
anticancer
senescence-associated secretory phenotype
piperine
human diploid fibroblasts
Figures
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