The combination use of 1-O-acetylbritannilactone (ABL) and gemcitabine inhibits cell growth and induces cell apoptosis in lung adenocarcinoma cells.

1-O-acetylbritannilactone (ABL), a natural chemical component obtained from Chinese traditional medicine, Inula britannica, has been demonstrated to have anticancer activities. In the present study, we evaluated the anti-proliferative and the pro-apoptotic abilities of ABL alone or in combination with gemcitabine in human NSCLC cell line. A549 cells were treated, in vitro, with ABL, gemcitabine, and the combination of ABL and gemcitabine for 72 h. Our results showed ABL and gemcitabine inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis of A549 cells. These effects after the combination of ABL and gemcitabine were superior to those of each alone. Furthermore, signal transduction analysis revealed NF-κB expression was significantly decreased by ABL and the combination treatment. IκBα and Bax levels were up regulated whereas Bcl-2 was substantially downregulated after all treatments. Our findings suggest that ABL combined with gemcitabine elicits a potent apoptosis of lung cancer cell and hence ABL has the potential to be developed as a chemotherapeutic agent.