Epidemiological studies have indicated that increased consumption of cruciferous vegetables is associated with a statistically significant reduction in the risk for cancers. The major bioactive agent in these vegetables is a class of sulfur-containing glycosides called glucosinolates. Isothiocyanates, derivatives of glucosinolates, have been shown to possess anticancer properties in a variety of tumor cell lines. In this study, we evaluated the antigrowth, cell cycle modulation and proapoptotic effects of isothiocyanate iberin in human neuroblastoma cells. Treatment of neuroblastoma cells with iberin resulted in a dose- and time-dependent inhibition of growth, increased cytotoxicity, and G1 or G2 cell cycle arrest depending upon cell type. The iberin-induced cell cycle arrest in neuroblastoma cells was associated with inhibition of expression of Cdk2, Cdk4, and Cdk6 proteins. Fluorescence microscopic analysis of DNA-staining patterns with DAPI revealed an increase in apoptotic cell death in iberin-treated cells as compared with control cells. FLICA staining showed that iberin induced apoptosis, and this apoptotic induction was found to be associated with the activation of caspase-9, caspase-3, and PARP. These findings suggest that the anticancer efficacy of iberin is mediated via induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human neuroblastoma cells and has strong potential for development as a therapeutic agent against cancer.

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