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. 2015;10(9):e1062199.
doi: 10.1080/15592324.2015.1062199.

Methyl jasmonate and its potential in cancer therapy

Meng Zhang  1 , Michael W Zhang  1 , Lili Zhang  1 , Lingrui Zhang  2
Affiliations

Methyl jasmonate and its potential in cancer therapy

Meng Zhang et al. Plant Signal Behav. 2015.

Erratum in

  • doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcn086

Abstract

Methyl jasmonate (MeJa) is a naturally occurring hydrophobic oxylipin phytohormone. Early findings obtained from cancer cell lines suggest that MeJa is endowed with anticancer capabilities. It has been recently proposed that MeJa represents a novel agent that exhibits direct and selective actions against tumor cells without affecting normal human cells. In a previous study, I reported that MeJa itself is enough to result in the dysfunction of mitochondria and chloroplasts, as well as to activate cell death program (apoptosis), in the normal protoplasts of Arabidopsis thaliana. Indeed, this also holds true for other living plant systems in which senescence, hypersensitive response and oxidative stress have been found under MeJa action. Therefore, in this addendum to my previous article, I would like to stress that much more attention should be paid to the potential effect(s) of MeJa, or its derivatives, on healthy cells and tissues before it is used for clinical anticancer drugs, whether being used alone or in combination with other agents.

Keywords: anticancer agent; apoptosis; cancer; cell death; methyl jasmonate.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Chemical structure of methyl jasmonate (cyclopentaneaceticacid, 3-oxo-2-(2-penten-1-yl)-, methyl ester) is displayed as cartoon. The balls in yellow, white and red represent oxygen, carbon and hydrogen, respectively.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The actions of MeJa on plant cells (left panel) and human cancer cells (right panel). Besides the cell death, senescence, hypersensitive response and oxidative stress have also been found in many living plant systems under MeJa action. A more detailed explanation is given in text.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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