Alpha Terpineol: A Potential Anticancer Agent which Acts through Suppressing NF-?B Signalling

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BlankAlpha Terpineol: A Potential Anticancer Agent which Acts through

Suppressing NF-?B Signalling

1.. SAADIA BASHIR HASSAN1,

2.. HALA GALI-MUHTASIB2,

3.. HANNA GÖRANSSON1 and

4.. ROLF LARSSON1

+ Author Affiliations

1.. 1Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medical Sciences,

University Hospital, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden

2.. 2Department of Biology, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

1.. Correspondence to: Saadia Bashir Hassan, Division of Clinical

Pharmacology, Department of Medical Sciences, University Hospital, 751 85

Uppsala, Sweden. Tel: +46 186119381, Fax: +46 18519237, e-mail:

sadia.hassan@...

Abstract

Background: Alpha terpineol is a bioactive component of Salvia libanotica

essential oil extract and has shown antitumour activity. Materials and Methods:

The cytotoxicity of alpha terpineol towards different tumour cell lines was

evaluated in vitro. Mechanistic characterization was performed using analysis of

drug activity in a cell line panel and drug-induced gene expression perturbation

using the connectivity map approach. Results: The small cell lung carcinoma was

the cell line most sensitive to alpha terpineol. The results proposed alpha

terpineol as an NF-?B inhibitor, which was confirmed by the observed

dose-dependent inhibition of NF-?B translocation and activity using two NF-?B

assays, and by the down-regulation of the expression of several NF-?B-related

genes such as IL-1ß and IL1R1. Conclusion: The results suggest that alpha

terpineol inhibits the growth of tumour cells through a mechanism that involves

inhibition of the NF-?B pathway.