Herbal extracts from lycii radicis corex and achyranthes japonica prevent multiple myeloma progression

Abstract Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy that, despite advances in treatment, remains incurable. In over 90% of MM patients, aberrant bone remodeling occurs and results in osteolytic lesions. Korean traditional medicine has a long-standing interest in healthy foods to enhance the immune system, energy-boost, and Yin-and-Yang balance. Traditional medicine has used herbal extracts (HE) from natural plants with fewer side effects and long-term treatment tolerance. In earlier studies, lycii radices cortex (LRC) and achyranthes japonica (AJ) containing HE have demonstrated the ability to enhance cell growth and mineralization of osteoblast cells while also inhibiting osteoclast differentiation. The current study investigated the effects of LRC+AJ containing HE on murine 5TGM1 MM-bearing mice.This HE significantly increased the mouse survivals of both Treatment before Transplant (TbT) and Treatment after Transplant (TaT) groups with median survivals of undetermined and 52.5 days, respectively, while MM control had a median survival of 42 days. The Mantel-Cox test found that TbT and TaT mice were significantly different from the control group (P=0.0014 and 0.0182, respectively). In histomorphometric analysis, the spines were scanned by micro-CT and revealed that TbT and TaT groups had significantly increased bone volume over total volume (BV/TV) than control. To see if HE affects cell growth of myeloma cells and osteoblast cells, we further investigated the HE on preosteoblast cell line MC3T3-E1, mouse MM cell line 5TGM1-Luc, and human MM cell line U-266. Cells were treated with HE, and viability was assessed at 48 and 96 hours post-treatment. Remarkably, LRC+AJ containing HE increased MC3T3-E1 cell growth while it decreased 5TGM1 and U-266 cell viability. In addition, we found the DAP3G in HE used in this study.Our results demonstrated that LRC+AJ HE prevents MM and promotes bone formation in 5TGM1 engrafted NSG mice. We also found that LRC+AJ HE suppresses myeloma cell growth and enhances osteoblast cell survival. Although it is yet to be defined, a correlation of osteoblast activity and myeloma cell inhibition suggests a possible connection of these events to prevent MM progression. Citation Format: Syed Hassan Mehdi, Sun-OK Lee, Dam Huh, Donghoon Yoon. Herbal extracts from lycii radicis corex and achyranthes japonica prevent multiple myeloma progression. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 3828.