Active compounds from natural products have been widely studied. The
anti-tumor effects of 13-acetoxysarcocrassolide isolated from Formosan soft coral
Sarcophyton crassocaule on bladder cancer cells were examined in this study. An MTT
assay showed that 13-acetoxysarcocrassolide was cytotoxic to bladder female transitional
cancer (BFTC) cells. We determined that the BFTC cells underwent cell death through
apoptosis by flow cytometry. Due to the highly-migratory nature of the BFTC cells, the
ability of 13-acetoxysarcocrassolide to stop their migration was assessed by a wound
healing assay. To determine which proteins were affected in the BFTC cells upon treatment,
a comparative proteomic analysis was performed. By LC-MS/MS analysis, we identified
that 19 proteins were up-regulated and eight were down-regulated. Seven of the proteinswere confirmed by western blotting analysis. This study reveals clues to the potential
mechanism of the cytotoxic effects of 13-acetoxysarcocrassolide on BFTC cells. Moreover, it
suggests that PPT1 and hnRNP F could be new biomarkers for bladder cancer. The results
of this study are also helpful for the diagnosis, progression monitoring and therapeutic
strategies of transitional cell tumors.
