Human
bladder cancer is an aggressive
tumor which frequently resists
chemotherapy. Therefore, the search for new therapeutic agents is of great importance.
Altholactone, isolated from Goniothalamus sp., has been reported to inhibit the growth of various types of
cancer cells. However, no prior research has been conducted to demonstrate the antiproliferative potential of
altholactone on
bladder cancer. In the present study, we characterized the effect of
altholactone on cell growth and apoptosis in
bladder cancer T24 cells. Treatment with
altholactone resulted in a significant reduction in cell viability, induction of apoptosis and generation of
reactive oxygen species (ROS) in T24 cells. Furthermore, our results revealed that
altholactone-induced apoptosis was associated with decreased expression of Akt phosphorylation and activation of MAPK‑p38.
Altholactone treatment was also found to result in a significant loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, Bcl-2 downregulation and
caspase-3 activation. Pretreatment of T24 cells with the
antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) significantly inhibited activation of
caspase-3 and MAPK-p38 and prevented inactivation of Akt and Bcl-2. Taken together, our data demonstrate that
altholactone induces ROS-dependent apoptosis in T24 cells via a novel mechanism involving inhibition of Akt and provide the rationale for further in vivo and preclinical investigation of
altholactone against
bladder cancer.