Honokiol Induces Ferroptosis by Upregulating HMOX1 in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells

• DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.897791
• Publication Date: 2022-05-11T06:41:24Z
• Authors: Xingrong Lai; Yanhua Sun; Xuedi Zhang; Dan Wang; Jialing Wang; Haihua Wang; Yao Zhao; Xinling Liu; Xin Xu; Haoran Song; Wenjia Ping; Yanli Sun; Zhenbo Hu
• Keywords: Pharmacology; 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences; AML; heme oxygenase (HO)-1; lipid peroxidation; Therapeutics. Pharmacology; RM1-950; honokiol; ferroptosis; 3. Good health

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the malignant hematological cancers with high mortality. Finding a more effective and readily available treatment is of the utmost importance. Here, we aimed to identify the anti-leukemia effect of a natural small molecule compound honokiol on a panel of AML cell lines, including THP-1, U-937, and SKM-1, and explored honokiol’s potential biological pathways and mechanisms. The results showed that honokiol decreased the viability of the targeted AML cells, induced their cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase, and inhibited their colony-formation capacity. Honokiol also triggers a noncanonical ferroptosis pathway in THP-1 and U-937 cells by upregulating the level of intracellular lipid peroxide and HMOX1 significantly. Subsequent studies verified that HMOX1 was a critical target in honokiol-induced ferroptosis. These results reveal that honokiol is an effective anti-leukemia agent in AML cell lines and may be a potential ferroptosis activator in AML.