Amentoflavone inhibits colorectal tumor growth, stemness, and metastasis, prolonging survival through GLI-1/IL6/STAT3 axis targeting.

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major malignancy of the colon and rectum. Despite recent clinical advances, continued research is essential to improve therapeutic outcomes. Amentoflavone, a naturally occurring biflavonoid with anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties, has shown potential, yet its precise mechanisms and therapeutic efficacy in CRC remain inadequately understood.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

CT26 and HCT116 cell lines were employed to evaluate the effects of amentoflavone on cell viability, metastasis, and stemness, both in vitro and in vivo.

RESULTS

A high mutation rate of GLI-1 was observed in CRC patients and was correlated with increased expression of stemness-associated factors. Amentoflavone significantly inhibited GLI-1-mediated CRC cell proliferation, induced G1 phase arrest, and downregulated Cyclin D1/CDK4 expression. It also suppressed metastasis, as evidenced by reduced cell migration, invasion, angiogenesis, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), largely through GLI-1 inactivation. Amentoflavone further diminished tumorsphere formation and stemness marker expression. Additionally, the IL-6/STAT3 signaling axis-positively correlated with GLI-1-was also inhibited by amentoflavone. In both xenograft and orthotopic mouse models, amentoflavone markedly reduced tumor growth and improved survival, as confirmed by CT imaging, 18F-FDG uptake, and Kaplan-Meier analysis. No signs of toxicity were observed, with normal organ histology, stable serum biochemistry (AST, ALT, γGT, CREA), and consistent body weight during treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

This preclinical study highlights amentoflavone as a promising and safe therapeutic candidate for CRC by targeting the GLI-1/IL-6/STAT3 signaling axis. These findings support further development of amentoflavone as a potential anti-CRC agent.