Bufalin

The Uses of Bufalin

Bufalin has been used:

• to test its effect on invasion and activation of nuclear factor kappa- B (NF-κB) cells and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) stimulated rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RAFLSs)
• as a nuclear receptor coactivator 3 (NCOA3) inhibitor in chondrocytes
• to test its anti-metastasis effect in lung cancer cells (NCI-H460) resistant to gefitinib

The Uses of Bufalin

A bufadienolide derivative, cardiac steroid, a component of bufadienolides present in the traditional Chinese medicine Chan'su, used therapeutically for the treatment of heart disease, also has been reported as a protective factor in many tumors.

What are the applications of Application

Bufalin is inducer of apoptosis in human HL-60 and U-937 cell lines

Definition

ChEBI: A 14beta-hydroxy steroid that is bufan-20,22-dienolide having hydroxy substituents at the 5beta- and 14beta-positions. It has been isolated from the skin of the toad Bufo bufo.

General Description

Bufalin is a C-24 steroid with an α-pyrone ring positioned at C-17. It is present in the venom glands and skin of toad, Venenum Bufonis. Bufalin is a cardiotonic steroid and is digoxin-like component of Chan Su.

Hazard

Toxic.

Biochem/physiol Actions

Bufalin is an anti-metastasis drug, which elicits anti-tumor functionality by favoring cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in various cancer types including hepatocellular, bladder and osteosarcoma. It also promotes autophagic cell death and possesses anti-inflammatory properties. Bufalin is a steroid receptor coactivator (SRC) inhibitor.

Enzyme inhibitor

This cardioactive C-24 steroid (FW = 386.52 g/mol; CAS 465-21-4; Solubility: 5 mg/mL chloroform, 25 mg/mL DMSO), also named 3,14- dihydroxybufa-20,22-dienolide;5β,20(22)-bufadienolide-3β,14-diol and 3β,14-dihydroxy-5β,20(22)-bufadienolide, is the major digoxin-like immunoreactive component of Chansu, a traditional Chinese medicine prepared from the skin and venom-containing parotid gland of a poisonous toad. Bufalin increases the doubling time of three prostate cancer cell lines, inducing apoptosis and the caspase-3 activity. Expression of other proapoptoptic factors, such as mitochondrial Bax and cytosolic cytochrome c, were also increased. Bufalin also reduces serum-induced invasiveness of human hepatocellular cancer SK-Hep1 cells, markedly inhibiting MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities. It also attenuates phosphoinisitide-3-kinase (PI3K) and AKT phosphorylation was associated with reduced levels of NF- κB. Bufalin also suppresses protein levels of FAK, Rho A, VEGF, MEKK3, MKK7, and uPA. Such observations indicate that bufalin is as an antiinvasive agent that inhibits MMP-2 and -9 and alters PI3K/AKT and NF- κB signaling pathways.