Sann-Joong-Kuey-Jian-Tang (SJKJT), a
traditional Chinese medicine prescription, has been used to treat lymph node diseases and
tumors. However, the molecular mechanisms of SJKJT in human
colon cancer in vivo and in vitro have not been clearly elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms of SJKJT in human
colon cancer colo 205 cells in vitro and in vivo. In the in vitro study, colo 205 cells were treated with various concentrations (0.5, 1 and 2 mg/ml) of SJKJT. The
protein expression of TNF-α,
Caspase-8 and
Caspase-3 in colo 205 cells was measured by Western blotting. The results demonstrate that SJKJT up-regulated Fas, TNF-α,
Caspase-8 and
Caspase-3 protein expression. In the in vivo study, human
colon cancer colo 205 cells (3x106/0.2 ml) were injected subcutaneously into the flank area of nude SCID mice (n=32) randomly divided into four groups. SJKJT was dissolved in saline and then administered orally to the mice at concentrations of 0.01, 0.1 and 0.3 g/kg/day for 30 days. The control group was treated with an equal volume of saline. SCID mice were sacrified by CO2 inhalation and the xenograft
tumors were dissected. Subsequently, the
protein expression of Fas, TNF-α,
Caspase-8 and
Caspase-3 in the
tumors was measured by Western blotting. The results demonstrate that SJKJT up-regulated Fas, TNF-α,
Caspase-8 and
Caspase-3 protein expression, both in vitro and in vivo. These observations suggest that SJKJT has therapeutic potential in
colon cancer.