4-Ethylphenyl Sulfate Selectively Deleterious for Colon Cancer Cells

This research is the first study to reveal the potential anticancer properties of phenolic metabolite derived from gut microbiota i.e., 4-EPS on human colon cancer cells. The findings revealed that 4EPS induces apoptosis, causes cell cycle arrest, increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, disrupts cell morphology, inhibits cell viability, and suppresses colony formation in HCT-116 colon cancer cells. Importantly, 4-EPS did not exhibit cytotoxicity to normal colon cells. Molecular docking and simulation studies reveals the enhanced binding interaction of 4-EPS with HDAC1 in comparison with other HDACs. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that 4-EPS possesses significant anticancer potential against colon cancer cells while being safe for normal colon cells. These results suggest that 4-EPS could be considered a promising candidate for future colon cancer treatments.

本研究首次揭示了源自肠道微生物群的酚类代谢物4-EPS（即4-乙基苯酚）在人类结肠癌细胞中潜在的抗癌特性。研究发现，4-EPS可诱导细胞凋亡、引发细胞周期阻滞、增加活性氧（ROS）的产生、破坏细胞形态、抑制细胞活力，并抑制HCT-116结肠癌细胞集落形成。值得注意的是，4-EPS对正常结肠细胞并无细胞毒性。分子对接和模拟研究表明，4-EPS与HDAC1的相互作用相较于其他HDACs得到增强。基于这些发现，可以得出结论，4-EPS对结肠癌细胞具有显著的抗癌潜力，同时对正常结肠细胞安全无害。这些结果提示，4-EPS可作为未来结肠癌治疗的潜在候选药物。