Phenethyl Isothiocyanate Inhibits Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cell Growth and Invasion

The dietary compound phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), is an active component of cruciferous vegetables and markedly inhibits the growth of a variety of tumors. However, its role in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is obscure. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the possible mechanisms whereby PEITC exhibited anticancer properties in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma NPC-TW01 cells in vitro. The experiment results exhibited that in a dose- and time-dependent manner treatment of NPC-TW01 cells with PEITC significantly inhibited cell proliferation, promoted apoptosis with concurrent G2/M cell cycle arrest and inhibited cell invasion in a dose-dependent manner. These effects were accompanied by significant alterations in the expression levels of key proteins associated with pro-survival signaling pathways, including PI3K, Akt, ERK, NF-κB, Bcl, Bax, cyclin B, CDK4 and CDK6. Significantly, these effects were not reflected in 16HBE normal human bronchial epithelial cells, indicating a safe range of treatment concentrations between 0 and 10 μM PEITC. In conclusion, PEITC exhibited significant anticancer effects against human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells in vitro with low toxicological impact on normal bronchial epithelial cells. This was achieved through dysregulation of key proteins involved in the occurrence and development of tumors, and this approach may be applied to the clinical treatment of NPC and in drug screening.