The inhibitory effect of Cordycepin on the proliferation of cisplatin-resistant A549 lung cancer cells

Highlights: • Cordycepin perturbed the proliferation of A549CR cells. • H-Ras, which is known to be associated with cisplatin-resistance, was down-regulated by Cordycepin. • Caspases −3, −8 and −9 activities were increased in Cordycepin-treated A549CR cells. • Induction of apoptosis and accumulation of sub G1 were observed in Cordycepin-treated A549CR cells. The goal of this study is to determine the anti-cancer mechanism of Cordycepin in A549 Cisplatin-Resistance (CR) lung cancer cells. Cordycepin inhibited the viability of A549CR cells in a dose-dependent manner. The cell inhibition was due to induction of apoptosis in the cells treated with Cordycepin by activation of caspase −3, −8 and −9 activities. The cell cycle analysis showed that accumulation of Sub G1 was observed in Cordycepin-treated with A549CR lung cancer cells. Based on the data of expression profile analysis of cell signaling proteins using IPS-FPAA, H-Ras was down-regulated in Cordycepin-treated A549CR cells. Collectively, anti-proliferative function of Cordycepin was due to stimulation of the cell apoptosis and the cell cycle arrest via caspases activation and down-regulation of H-Ras.