Vernolactone Promotes Apoptosis and Autophagy in Human Teratocarcinomal (NTERA-2) Cancer Stem-Like Cells.

, is a shrub endemic to Sri Lanka. has been used in Sri Lankan traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases and conditions. The present study was designed to determine antiproliferative, apoptotic, autophagic, and antioxidant effects of vernolactone, isolated from , in human embryonal carcinoma cells (NTERA-2, a cancer stem cell model). Antiproliferative effects of vernolactone in NTERA-2 cells and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (control cells) were evaluated using the Sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay and WST-1 antiproliferative assays, respectively. The antiproliferative effect of vernolactone was further investigated using the colony formation assay. Effects of vernolactone on apoptosis were investigated by phase contrast light microscopic and fluorescence microscopic analysis, caspase 3/7 expression, and real-time PCR of apoptosis-associated genes and . The effect of vernolactone on NTERA-2 cell migration was monitored using the wound healing assay. Effects of vernolactone on the expression of autophagy-related genes (, , , , and ) were evaluated using real-time PCR. 2,2-Diphenyl-1-2,2-diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay, 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging, and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays were also carried out to evaluate the antioxidant activity of vernolactone. Overall results confirm that vernolactone can exert antiproliferative effects, induce apoptosis and autophagy, and decrease NTERA-2 cell migration in a dose- and time-dependent manner with a very small antioxidant property.