Anti-cancer potential of Oxialis obtriangulata in pancreatic cancer cell through regulation of the ERK/Src/STAT3-Mediated Pathway

As a plant medicine, Oxalidaceae has been used to treat various diseases in Korea. However, there is little data on the anti-cancer efficacy of Oxalidaceae, particularly O. obtriangulata. This study aimed to investigate the anti-cancer effect of O. obtriangulata methanol extract (OOE) and its regulatory actions on pancreatic carcinoma. OOE showed anti-proliferative effects and induced cell death in the colony formation and cell viability assays, respectively. The Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) data confirmed that OOE significantly induced cell cycle accumulation at the G2/M phase and apoptotic effects. Additionally, OOE inhibited the activated ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase)/Src (Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src)/STAT3 (signal transducers and activators of transcription 3) pathways including nuclear translocation of STAT3. Furthermore, suppression of Ki67, PARP(Poly ADP-ribose polymerase), caspase-3, P27(Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B), and c-Myc as well as the STAT3 target genes CDK(cyclin-dependent kinase)1, CDK2, Cyclin B1, VEGF-1(vascular endothelial growth factor-1), MMP-9(Matrix metallopeptidase 9), and Survivin by OOE was observed in BxPC3. We speculate that these molecular actions might support an anti-cancer effect of OOE. In this study, we demonstrated that OOE may be a promising anti-cancer material and may serve as a natural therapy and alternative remedy for pancreatic cancer treatment.