Targeted Efficacy of Dihydroartemisinin for Translationally Controlled Protein Expression in a Lung Cancer Model

Abstract

<br/><b>Objective</b>: Lung cancer is one of the malignant tumors with greatest morbidity and mortality around theworld. The keys to targeted therapy are discovery of lung cancer biomarkers to facilitate improvement of survivaland quality of life for the patients with lung cancer. Translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) is one ofthe most overexpressed proteins in human lung cancer cells by comparison to the normal cells, suggesting thatit might be a good biomarker for lung cancer. Materials and <br/><b>Methods</b>: In the present study, the targeted efficacyof dihydroartemisinin (DHA) on TCTP expression in the A549 lung cancer cell model was explored. Resultsand <br/><b>Conclusions</b>: DHA could inhibit A549 lung cancer cell proliferation, and simultaneously up-regulate theexpression of TCTP mRNA, but down-regulate its protein expression in A549 cells. In addition, it promotedTCTP protein secretion. Therefore, TCTP might be used as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target fornon-small cell lung cancers.