Proteomic analysis of the anti-cancer effect of various extracts of endemic Thermopsis turcica in human cervical cancer cells

Background/aim: Thermopsis turcica is a perennial species endemic to Turkey and different extracts of T. turcica has an anti-proliferative effect on cancer cells, but there has not been any report on HeLa (human cervical cancer) cells.

Materials and methods: To get a better understanding of molecular mechanism of anti-cancer activity of methanolic extracts of leaves (LE) and flowers (FE) of T. turcica, we employed the 2-DE based proteomics to explore the proteins involved in the anti-cancer activity in HeLa cells.

Results: T. turcica extracts showed a potent cytotoxic effect on HeLa cells with IC50 values of 1.75 mg/mL for LE and 3.25 mg/mL for FE. The induction of apoptosis by LE and FE was also consistent with increased expression of caspase mRNAs and DNA fragmentation. In terms of proteomic approach, 27 differentially expressed proteins were detected and identified through MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry. These altered proteins were involved in cytoskeleton organization and movement, protein folding, proteolysis and translation, cell cycle and proliferation, signal transduction, cell redox homeostasis, and metabolism.

Conclusion: Up-regulation of protein disulfide isomerases and down-regulation of Rho GDP-dissociation inhibitor, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins, and heat shock proteins may contribute to the induction of apoptosis and arresting of cell cycle in HeLa cells.

Keywords: Anti-cancer activity; Thermopsis turcica; apoptosis; human cervical cancer; proteomics.