Anticancer effects of aloe-emodin from Rheum undulatum L. through activation of the p53 pathway in human prostate cancer cells

Abstract Aloe-emodin, an anthraquinone compound naturally derived from Rheum undulatum L., has gained extensive research attention owing to its various pharmacological effects, including its potential as an anticancer, antivirus, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anti-parasitic agent. It has demonstrated notable inhibitory effects against various types of cancer and cancer cells. Prostate cancer is among the most commonly identified cancers globally and remains a leading cause of cancer-associated deaths in men, often presenting challenges in early detection due to its asymptomatic nature during initial stages. The aim of present study was to determine the biological activity of aloe-emodin obtained from Rheum undulatum L. involving activation of the p53-dependent pathway in certain human prostate cancer cell lines. We explored the mechanisms underlying the anticancer effects of aloe-emodin using LNCaP cells, which include p53-wild type and phosphatase and tensin homolog-deficient mutated genes, a widely studied model in genomic research. Aloe-emodin induced apoptosis in LNCaP cells through several mechanisms, including upregulation of the cleavage of caspase-8 (a cross-linked promoter of cell death signals), phosphorylation of p53 at serine 15, DNA fragmentation, cleavage of poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase, and promotion of cell death. These findings strongly indicated that aloe-emodin's anticancer properties in human prostate cancer involve the activation of p53-induced cellular senescence. Conclusively, the findings of this study imply that aloe-emodin extracted from Rheum undulatum L . is a potential therapeutic compound for adjuvant chemotherapy that induces apoptosis and pyroptosis, an innate immune response, in preventing the progression of precancerous lesions in patients with prostate cancer.