The Fritillaria alkaloid peiminine acts as a chemosensitizer to potentiate oxaliplatin efficacy against gastric cancer

Background

Fritillaria walujewii Regel (Xinjiang Bei-Mu), an authentic ("Dao-di") medicinal herb documented in Chinese pharmacopoeias, is traditionally used to treat respiratory disorders. Its principal steroidal alkaloid, peiminine (PMI), demonstrates significant anticancer activity. Oxaliplatin (Oxa), a first-line chemotherapeutic cornerstone for gastric cancer (GC), is limited clinically by intrinsic chemoresistance. Natural product-derived monomers represent a promising strategy for developing chemosensitizers to overcome such resistance. However, the potential of PMI to counteract Oxa chemoresistance and its underlying mechanisms remain unexplored, warranting comprehensive investigation. To determine the chemosensitizing effects of PMI in combination with Oxa for GC treatment, specifically evaluating its capacity to reverse chemoresistance and enhance therapeutic efficacy.

Materials and methods

The effects of PMI combined with Oxa versus Oxa monotherapy on GC cells (HGC27, BGC823, MKN45) were assessed using CCK-8, colony formation, and flow cytometry apoptosis assays to evaluate cell proliferation and apoptosis. Subsequently, qPCR-based apoptosis pathway array and transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) were used to differentially expressed apoptosis-related genes and to uncover key signaling pathways mediating PMI-induced Oxa sensitization. The protein expression level of Bcl-2, Bax, PARP, cytochrome c (CYCS), Caspase-3/9, RAS and AKT was determined by Western blot. Finally, the efficacy of PMI+Oxa combination therapy was validated in vivo using both cell line-derived xenograft (CDX) and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models.

Results

PMI (50 μM) synergized with Oxa (2.5 μM), significantly enhancing apoptosis and suppressing proliferation in GC cells. Mechanistically, the combination activated the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway by upregulating Bax and inducing the release of CYCS and the cleavage of caspase-9, caspase-3, and PARP. Concurrently, it suppressed the RAS/PI3K/AKT survival pathway by inhibiting Ras-GTP and phospho-AKT. In CDX models, PMI (2 mg/kg) + Oxa achieved a tumor growth inhibition (TGI) rate of > 80.8 %, compared to 20.4 % for Oxa alone. Strikingly, in PDX models which preserve clinical tumor heterogeneity—the combination induced a TGI of > 70 % without exacerbating systemic toxicity.

Conclusions

PMI is a novel dual-targeting chemosensitizer that overcomes Oxa resistance by simultaneously activating intrinsic apoptosis and inhibiting pro-survival signaling. Its demonstrated efficacy in clinically relevant PDX models highlights its significant translational potential for platinum-resistant GC therapy.