Neokestose suppresses the growth of human melanoma A2058 cells via inhibition of the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway

Abstract

Neokestose has superior prebiotic effects compared with the commercial fructooligosaccharides (FOS). In addition, the branched structure of neokestose, a type of neo-FOS, confers improved chemical stability compared with conventional FOS; therefore, the investigation of the branched structure by the present study may be of high biomedical value. The present study aimed to determine whether neokes-tose may suppress growth of the A2058 melanoma cell line. The cells were initially treated with neokestose; subsequently, in vitro cytotoxicity was assessed using MTT, and cell cycle progression and apoptosis were detected using flow cytometry. The protein expression levels of cyclin D1, phosphorylated (p)-inhibitor of κB (IκB) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) were determined using western blotting. Treatment with neokestose led to a dose-dependent inhibition of cell viability. Flow cytometry data indicated that neokestose increased the sub-G1 cell population, and induced early and late apoptosis. Western blot analysis revealed that neokestose treatment reduced the expression levels of p-IκB and cyclin D1. These findings suggest that neokestose treatment may induce suppression of A2058 melanoma cell viability via inhibition of the NF-κB pathway. The present findings support the requirement for further investigation into the potential use of neokestose as an additional or chemopreventive therapeutic agent for the treatment of melanoma.