Inhibition of Transmembrane Member 16A Calcium-activated Chloride Channels by Natural Flavonoids Contributes to Flavonoid Anticancer Effects

Background And Purpose: Natural flavonoids are ubiquitous in dietary plants and vegetables and have been proposed to have antiviral, antioxidant, cardiovascular protective and anticancer effects. Transmembrane member 16A (TMEM16A)-encoded Ca -activated Cl channels play a variety of physiological roles in many organs and tissues. Overexpression of TMEM16A is also believed to be associated with cancer progression. Therefore, inhibition of TMEM16A current may be a potential target for cancer therapy. In this study, we screened a broad spectrum of flavonoids for their inhibitory activities on TMEM16A currents.

Experimental Approach: A whole-cell patch technique was used to record the currents. The BrdU assay and transwell technique were used to investigate cell proliferation and migration.

Key Results: At a concentration of 100 μM, 10 of 20 compounds caused significant (>50%) inhibition of TMEM16A currents. The four most potent compounds - luteolin, galangin, quercetin and fisetin - had IC values ranging from 4.5 to 15 μM). To examine the physiological relevance of these findings, we also studied the effects of these flavonoids on endogenous TMEM16A currents in addition to cell proliferation and migration in LA795 cancer cells. Among the flavonoids tested, we detected a highly significant correlation between TMEM16A current inhibition and cell proliferation or reduction of migration.

Conclusions And Implications: This study demonstrates that flavonoids inhibit TMEM16A currents and suggests that flavonoids could have anticancer effects via this mechanism.