Open Access
ARTICLE
Topical Application of Houttuynia cordata Thunb Ethanol Extracts Increases Tumor Infiltrating CD8+ /Treg Cells Ratio and Inhibits Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma in vivo
Lipeng Gao1,2,#, Rongyin Gui1,#, Xinnan Zheng1, Yingxue Wang1, Yao Gong1, Tim Hua Wang1, Jichuang Wang3, Junyi Huang1,2, Xinhua Liao1,2,*
1
School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
2
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Bio-Energy Crops, Plant Science Center, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China
3
Institute for Translational Medicine, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350122, China
* Corresponding Author: Xinhua Liao. Email:
# Lipeng Gao and Rongyin Gui contributed equally to this work
Oncologie 2022, 24(3), 565-577. https://doi.org/10.32604/oncologie.2022.022454
Received 10 March 2022; Accepted 28 June 2022; Issue published 19 September 2022
Abstract
Houttuynia cordata Thunb (HCT) is a medicinal and edible herb that has beneficial effects on various diseases due
to its diuretic, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-cancer and anti-diabetic properties. Most reports of its anti-cancer activity were conducted in vitro, and its effects on cutaneous squamous cell
carcinoma (SCC) have not been investigated yet. Using DMBA/TPA induced SCC mice model, we found that
topical treatment by HCT, as well as its bioactive ingredient monomer, efficiently inhibited tumor growth.
Mechanistically, tumor infiltrating CD
4+
, Foxp
3+ T regulatory cells (Tregs) were significantly reduced and
CD
8+
/Treg cells ratio was largely increased in tumors after HCT treatment. In addition, several chemokines
which function to recruit immune cells were largely reduced in SCC cancer cells treated by HCT
in vitro. Our
results demonstrate the therapeutic effects of HCT on cutaneous SCC and indicate it might inhibit cancer through
regulating tumor infiltrating lymphocytes and the tumor immune microenvironments.
Keywords
Cite This Article
Gao, L., Gui, R., Zheng, X., Wang, Y., Gong, Y. et al. (2022). Topical Application of
Houttuynia cordata Thunb Ethanol Extracts Increases Tumor Infiltrating CD
8+ /Treg Cells Ratio and Inhibits Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma
in vivo.
Oncologie, 24(3), 565–577.