The Therapeutic Effects of Vernonia Amgdalina on the Inhibition of Growth of Cervical Cancer (HELA) Cells Through a Molecular Pathway
Arlencia Barnes1, Carolyn Howard2, and Tammi Taylor2
1Mississippi INBRE Research Scholar, Department of Biology and Chemistry, Mississippi Valley State University, Itta Bena, MS
2Department of Biology, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Cervical cancer is a malignant tumor of the cervix, the lowermost part of the uterus. Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of deaths in the US for women in the US after breast cancer. Estimates for the United States for 2019 are about 13,170 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed and about 32 percent of those women will die from cervical cancer (American Cancer Society, 2019). Based on previous studies with prostate cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer Vernonia amygdalina extracts (V.A. Extracts) is a very helpful novel treatment aside from traditional treatments such as chemotherapy. V.A. is a common edible vegetable in Cameroon/South Africa that has been used as a traditional medicine for some human diseases. V.A. also known as bitter leaf is a medicinal herb that is mostly used to decrease illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, etc. and prevent cancer. Currently there are no previous reports that have explored the therapeutic efficacy of V.A. extracts against cervical cancer. Our objective is to determine if V.A.will work in synergy with the current standard of care cisplatin as an herbal therapeutic for the treatment for cervical cancer. Depending on cell type and concentration, cisplatin induces cytotoxicity, by interference with transcription and/or DNA replication mechanisms. Additionally, cisplatin damages tumors via induction of apoptosis, mediated by the activation of various signal transduction pathways, including calcium signaling, death receptor signaling, and the activation of mitochondrial pathways (Florea, Busselburg, 2011). Nevertheless, cisplatin is so strong that it kills the cancer along with the healthy cells in the patient. V.A. Extracts are native to Africa in which people ingest the bitter leaf in a variety of ways. In this area where the bitter leaf is ingested cancer rates, disease rates, and sickness is little to nonexistent. We hypothesized that V.A. extracts will attenuate cervical cancer growth in synergy with the current standard of care, cisplatin. To achieve our objective, HeLa NR1 cell culture assays will be treated with varying doses of cisplatin, V.A. extracts alone, and cisplatin with varying doses of V.A. extracts for 72 hours. We plan to determine which molecular pathway V.A. extracts work with attenuate the proliferation of cervical cancer cells and best triggers cell apoptosis.