The efficacy of Taraxacum officinale leaves extract in regulate apoptosis, RARß2 gene and Sox2 expression on primary culture human cervical cancer stem cells

According to the cancer stem cell (CSC) theory, cancer is a stem cell diseases and CSCs have the potential for infinite proliferation, and play a crucial role in carcinogenesis, metastasis, recurrence, and drug resistant. Sox2 is one of the stem cell marker and recent studies have demostrated that Sox2 was abnormally expressed and related to drug resistance and relaps. Therefore, target therapy of CSCs is very important in cancer management. Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is well-known a folk medicine as anti cancer. Our study investigated the effects obtained from Dandelion leave on human cervical cancer stem cells (CCSCs). Cells were treated with Leaves Ethanolic Extract Taraxacum officinale (TO) ranging from 6.25 to 100 μg/mL for 24 hours. Significant apoptosis effect of TO were observed at 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL (12.25, 16.25, and 23.75%) compared with control value 4.00% (p<0.001), and this induction showed in a dose-dependent manner. The effective dose of TO to decreased Sox2 expression is 100 mg/mL (3.75%) compared with control value 12.00% (p<0.001), meanwhile, the effective doses of TO inducing expression of RARß2 gene are at 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 mg/mL (89.136, 102.738, 124.459, and 64.109) compared with control 54.246 (p<0.001) . Our findings indicated that TO is an effective induction apoptosis cervical cancer stem cell through down-regulation Sox2 expression and increased RARß2 gene expression.