This technology provides pharmaceutical and health functional food compositions for the prevention and treatment of choriocarcinoma, using coumestrol—a flavonoid-based natural compound found primarily in legumes—as an active ingredient. It also includes methods for inhibiting the proliferation and migration of non-human mammalian choriocarcinoma cell lines and enhancing apoptosis.
Choriocarcinoma is the most malignant form of gestational trophoblastic disease, characterized by high vascular invasiveness and frequent metastasis to the lungs and vagina. Approximately 15–25% of patients exhibit resistance to the standard EMA-CO chemotherapy, leading to poor prognoses. While the anticancer effects of coumestrol have been studied in various cancers, its therapeutic mechanism in choriocarcinoma has not been reported, creating a need for new treatment options to overcome drug resistance.
This technology works by having coumestrol regulate ERK1/2 and JNK signaling pathways within choriocarcinoma cells to block proliferation and migration, while increasing apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Synergistic effects on apoptosis can be achieved by combining it with the ERK1/2 inhibitor U0126 or the JNK inhibitor SP600125. This can be applied to combination therapies for resistant choriocarcinoma, functional foods for managing gestational trophoblastic disease, and research platforms for validating targeted inhibitor combinations, offering a new treatment option that pairs plant-derived ingredients with targeted inhibitors for cases unresponsive to conventional chemotherapy.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Health and Welfare for the development of fetal-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapies for treating inflammatory preterm birth and neonatal brain injury.
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