Deguelin inhibits non-small cell lung cancer via down-regulating Hexokinases II-mediated glycolysis

Hexokinases II (HK2) is a hub in the regulation of cancer cell glycolysis. Here we reported deguelin, a natural compound which has been studied in various tumor types, has a profound anti-tumor effect on human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) via directly down-regulating of glycolysis. In NSCLC cell lines and primary NSCLC tissue, we found HK2 is overexpressed. Deguelin treatment markedly inhibited anchorage-dependent and independent growth of NSCLC cell lines. We revealed that deguelin exposure impaired glucose metabolism by inhibiting Akt-mediated Hexokinase II expression, overexpression of constitutively activated Akt1 substantially rescued deguelin-induced glycolysis suppression. Moreover, deguelin suppressed HK2 presence on mitochondrial outer membrane and induced apoptosis. The in vivo data indicated that deguelin prominently restrained tumor development in a xenograft mouse model. Thus, deguelin appears to be a promising new therapeutic agent for lung cancer and may be considered for further studies in other animal models and in clinical trials.