Adaptogenic activity of withaferin A on human cervical carcinoma cells using high-definition vibrational spectroscopic imaging

Despite invaluable advances in cervical cancer therapy, treatment regimens for recurrent or persistent cancers and low-toxicity alternative treatment options are scarce. In recent years, substances classified as adaptogens have been identified as promising drug sources for preventing and treating cancer-based diseases on their ability to attack multiple molecular targets. This paper establishes the effectiveness of inhibition of the neoplastic process by a withaferin A (WFA), an adaptogenic substance, based on an in vitro model of cervical cancer. This study explores for the first time the potential of high-definition vibrational spectroscopy methods, i.e. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopic (RS) imaging at the single-cell level to evaluate the efficacy of the adaptogenic drug. HeLa cervical cancer cells were incubated with various concentrations of WFA at different incubation times. The multimodal spectroscopic approach combined with partial least squares (PLS) regression allowed the identification of molecular changes (e.g., lipids, protein secondary structures, or nucleic acids) induced by WFA at the cellular level. The results clearly illustrate the enormous potential of WFA in inhibiting the proliferation of cervical cancer cells. WFA inhibited the growth of the studied cancer cell line in a dose-dependent manner. Such studies provide comprehensive information on the sensitivity of cells to adaptogenic drugs. This is a fundamental step towards determining the rate and nature of adaptogen-induced changes in cancer cells.