Plant flavonoid quercetin helps immune cells fight stomach cancer
Liu Y, Kang X, Wang J, Zhou X, Tan W
Medicinal Plants
The onions, apples, and capers in your kitchen contain the same quercetin compound researchers used to shrink tumors and boost immune cell attacks in this study.
Quercetin is a natural compound found in many fruits, vegetables, and medicinal plants like astragalus, and this study found it does double duty against stomach cancer. It directly damages cancer cells' internal power plants (mitochondria) to trigger their death, while also waking up the immune system's T cells to attack tumors more aggressively. In mice, tumors shrank with no apparent damage to other organs.
Key Findings
Quercetin induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in gastric cancer cells, with increased BAX, CytC, and cleaved Caspase-9/3
In a xenograft mouse model, quercetin reduced tumor growth, lowered Ki-67 proliferation marker, and increased peripheral CD8+ T cells with no apparent organ toxicity
In co-culture experiments, quercetin enhanced CD8+ T cell cytotoxicity (granzyme B, perforin, IL-2, IFN-γ) by binding PD-L1, reducing its protein level, and suppressing the PI3K-AKT pathway
chevron_right Technical Summary
A compound found in common plants like onions and the medicinal herb astragalus was shown in lab and animal studies to shrink gastric cancer tumors and help the immune system attack cancer cells more effectively.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Quercetin inhibits gastric cancer growth and enhances T cells immunity by modulating the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway.
Quercetin, a flavonoid derived from astragalus and other medicinal plants, exhibits anti-cancer activity; however, its mechanisms in gastric cancer, especially regarding tumor immunity, remain inco...
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Astragalus is a large genus of over 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae and the subfamily Faboideae. It is the largest genus of plants in terms of described species. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names incl...