Sedum sarmentosum Bunge extract induces apoptosis and inhibits proliferation in pancreatic cancer cells via the hedgehog signaling pathway

Abstract Sedum sarmentosum Bunge, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has a wide range of clinical applications including antibiosis, anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation. In the present study, we identified that its extract (SSBE) exerts pancreatic anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo. In the cultured pancreatic cancer PANC-1 cell line, SSBE inhibited cell growth in a concentration-dependent manner, and it was accompanied by the downregulated expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). In addition, SSBE treatment also increased cellular apoptosis in a mitochondrial-dependent manner. Moreover, SSBE induced p53 expression, reduced c-Myc expression, and inhibited epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The antiproliferative activity of SSBE in the pancreatic cancer cells was found to be closely related to cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase by upregulating p21(Waf1/CIP1) expression. Further study showed that this inhibitory effect of SSBE was through downregulation of the activity of the proliferation-related Hedgehog signaling pathway. Exogenous recombinant protein Shh was used to activate Hedgehog signaling, thereby resulting in the abolishment of the SSBE-mediated inhibition of pancreatic cancer cell growth. In animal xenograft models of pancreatic cancer, activated Hedgehog signaling was also observed compared with the vehicle controls, but was reduced by SSBE administration. As a result, SSBE suppressed the growth of pancreatic tumors. Thus, these findings demonstrate that SSBE has therapeutic potential for pancreatic cancer, and this anticancer effect in pancreatic cancer cells is associated with inhibition of the Hedgehog signaling pathway.