Dexmedetomidine Associated Lung Cancer Proliferation and Tumor Growth is Prevented by β-Caryophyllene: Role of AMPK Activation and PGC-1α/TFAM Over Expression

Background: Dexmedetomidine has been reported to induce anti-apoptotic effects and metastatic progression in lung cancer. In the current investigation, the effect of β-Caryophyllene on dexmedetomidine induced cell proliferation and apoptosis of lung cancer cells and tumor growth in mice was studied. Methods: A549 cell line was cultured with either dexmedetomidine alone or together with β-Caryophyllene for 24 h and analysed for cell proliferation with MTT assay. ELISA based kit was used to determine apoptotic DNA fragmentation. Western blotting was used to determine expression levels of target proteins. The induction of experimental lung tumor in rat model was achieved through the injection of A549 tumor cells subcutaneously into the middle left side of the mice after anesthetization with pentobarbital (35 mg/kg) at 2.8 × 106 cells in 400 μl of PBS. Result: We found that β-Caryophyllene exerts the anti-proliferative effects on A549 cells. Furthermore, β-Caryophyllene significantly prevents apoptotic cell death and causes up-regulation of PGC-1α and TFAM compared to dexmedetomidine treated cells. We observed that β-Caryophyllene suppressed tumor development in mice significantly compared to dexmedetomidine treated group without changing body weight.