Antitumour effects of artichoke polyphenols: cell death and ROS-mediated epigenetic growth arrest

Abstract Many epidemiological studies suggest that diet particulary rich in fruit and vegetables have cancer preventive properties. The beneficial effects of these diets are attributable, at least in part,  to polyphenols that have emerged as very promising anticancer bioactive compounds. We report that polyphenolic extracts from the edible part of artichoke show a potential chemopreventive and anticancer properties on several cancer cell lines. High dose of extracts of artichoke (AEs) reduced cell viability and inhibited cell growth in a dose dependent-manner. In particular AEs triggered apoptosis and modulate other tumour related features such as migration and invasion in highly metastatic breast cancer cells. In addition, we provide evidences that low dose of AEs-treatment inhibits breast cancer cell growth via the induction of premature senescence through epigenetic and ROS-mediated mechanisms. These findings demonstrated that high dose-AEs activate apoptotic machinery whereas low level treatment induce senescence in cancer cells. Since apoptosis and cellular pro-senescence are considered relevant anticancer therapeutic mechanisms, artichoke polyphenols extracts from the edible part, could be a promising dietary tool either in cancer chemoprevention or/and in cancer treatment as a non-conventional, adjuvant therapy.