Voacamine modulates the sensitivity to doxorubicin of resistant osteosarcoma and melanoma cells and does not induce toxicity in normal fibroblasts

J Nat Prod. 2014 Apr 25;77(4):855-62. doi: 10.1021/np400950h. Epub 2014 Apr 10.

Abstract

In previous studies it has been demonstrated that the plant alkaloid voacamine (1), used at noncytotoxic concentrations, enhanced the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin and exerted a chemosensitizing effect on cultured multidrug-resistant (MDR) U-2 OS-DX osteosarcoma cells. The in vitro investigations reported herein gave the following results: (i) the chemosensitizing effect of 1, in terms of drug accumulation and cell survival, was confirmed using SAOS-2-DX cells, another MDR osteosarcoma cell line; (ii) compound 1 enhanced the cytotoxic effect of doxorubicin also on the melanoma cell line Me30966, intrinsically drug resistant and P-glycoprotein-negative; (iii) at the concentrations used to sensitize tumor cells, 1 was not cytotoxic to normal cells (human fibroblasts). These findings suggest possible applications of voacamine (1) in integrative oncologic therapies against resistant tumors.

MeSH terms

  • ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B / metabolism
  • Alkaloids / chemistry
  • Alkaloids / pharmacology*
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Bone Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Doxorubicin / pharmacology*
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple / drug effects
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / drug effects
  • Fibroblasts / metabolism*
  • Fluorescent Antibody Technique
  • Humans
  • Ibogaine / analogs & derivatives*
  • Ibogaine / chemistry
  • Ibogaine / pharmacology
  • Melanoma / drug therapy*
  • Molecular Structure
  • Osteosarcoma / drug therapy*

Substances

  • ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B
  • Alkaloids
  • voacamine
  • Ibogaine
  • Doxorubicin

Grants and funding

National Institutes of Health, United States