진피 추출물에 의한 인체혈구 암세포의 G2/M 세포주기 억제 유발과 Telomerase 활성 억제

Citrus fruits have been used as edible fruits and traditional medicines since ancient times. In particular, the peels of immature citrus fruits are frequently prescribed in concert with other support herbs for many types of disease including cancer. In this study, in order to investigate the anti-proliferative activity of the peels of Citrus aurantium L. along with their effects on apoptosis, we prepared crude methanol extracts of the peels of C. aurantium L. (CME) and performed experiments using U937 human leukemia cells. The growth of U937 cells was inhibited by CME treatment in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and CME treatment induced G2/M cell cycle arrest, which was associated with inhibition of the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase (pCdc2, pCdc25c and Cdk2) and cyclins (cyclin A and B). Moreover, CME inhibited telomerase activity and the expression of human telomerase reverse transcritase (hTERT). These results, together with previous findings, suggest the cancer therapeutic as well as chemopreventive potential of Citrus fruits.