• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.69-77
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• 2020

The tumor suppressor gene, p53, is inactivated in the human hepatocellular carcinoma cells line, Hep3B. Berberine has been reported to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. This study examined whether apoptosis was induced in berberine-treated Hep3B cells and observed the association between apoptosis and the expression of p53 and DNA methyltransferase (DNMT). The cell viability was measured using an MTT assay. Apoptosis of Hep3B was measured using annexin V flow cytometry. Berberine-treated cells were examined for their DNMT enzymatic activity, mRNA expression, and protein synthesis. The p53 levels were examined by Western blot analysis. The berberine treatment resulted in increased Hep3B cell death and apoptosis in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The DNMT3b activity, mRNA expression, and protein levels all decreased after the berberine treatment. In contrast, the p53 protein levels increased with a concomitant decrease in DNMT3b. No change in the expression of ERK was observed, but the P-ERK levels decreased in a dose dependent manner. These results indicate that a treatment of Hep3B cells with berberine can reduce the expression of DNMT3b, leading to an increase in the tumor suppressant gene p53 and an increase in cell apoptosis. This shows that berberine can effectively suppress the proliferation of liver cancer cells.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.891-894
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• 2013

The present study was performed to assess the activity of the botulinum toxin A on breast cancer cells. The T47D cell line was exposed to diverse concentrations of the botulinum toxin A and cell viability and apoptosis were estimated using MTT and propidium iodine/annexin V methods, respectively. Botulinum toxin A exerted greater cytotoxic activity in T47D cells in comparison with MCF10A normal cells; this appeared to be via apoptotic processes caspase-3 and -7. In conclusion, botulinum toxin A induces caspase-3 and -7 dependent apoptotic processes in the T47D breast cancer cell line.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.171-177
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• 2006

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as indomethacin (IN) can exert anti-colorectal cancer (CRC) activity through cyclooxygenase independent mechanism, but the exactly biological mechanism is not completely known. Here we use proteomic tools to investigate the molecular mechanism of this action. First, nude mice bearing tumors derived from subcutaneous injection with human CRC cell line HCT116 were randomly allocated to groups treated with or without indomethacin. Later, tumor lumps were incised and then total proteins extracted. After separated with two-dimensional electrophoresis, thirty-one differently expressed spots were found between IN-treated and non-IN-treated groups, of which 25 spots decreased and 6 spots increased in abundance in IN-treated group. Through matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry and then NCBInr and SWISS-PROT databases searching, 12 protein spots were finally identified including galectin-1, annexin A1, annexin IV, trancription factor BTF3A, calreticulin. Most of the identified proteins are correlated with tumor's biological prosperities of proliferation, invasion, apoptosis and immunity, or take part in cell's signal transduction. From above we thought that indomethacin can exert its effect on colorectal cancer through regulating several proteins' expression directly or indirectly. Further study of these proteins may be helpful in founding new targets of drugs for cancer chemotherapy.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1032-1041
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• 2006

Extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) affects the function of many tissues and cells. To confirm the biological activity of ATP on human myeloid leukemic cells, F-36P and HL-60, cells were treated with a variety of concentrations of ATP. The stimulation with extracellular ATP induced the arrest of cell proliferation and cell death. from the analysis of Annexin-V staining and caspase activity by flow cytometry. The Annexin-V positive cells in both cell lines were dramatically increased following ATP stimulation. The expression of P2 purinergic receptor genes was confirmed, such as P2X1, P2X4, P2X5, P2X7 and P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, P2Y5, P2Y6, P2Y11 in both leukemic cell lines. Interestingly, ATP induced intracellular calcium flux in HL-60 cells but not in F-36P cells, as determined by Fluo-3 AM staining. Cell cycle analysis revealed that ATP treatment arrested both F-36P and HL-60 cells at G1/G0. Taken together, these data showed that extracellular ATP via P2 receptor genes was involved in the cell proliferation and survival in human myeloid leukemic cells, HL-60 and F-36P cells by the induction of apoptosis and control of cell cycle. Our data suggest that treatment with extracellular nucleotides may be a novel and powerful therapeutic avenue for myeloid leukemic disease.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.1573-1578
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• 2011

Milk thistle (silybum marianum) is a famous dietary supplement widely used in the United States and Europe. Silbinin is a major biologically active compound of milk thistle and has strong antioxidant and radical scavenger activities. Anticancer activities, as well as chemopreventive effects on various cancer cell lines, including prostate, lung, colon, skin, and bladder, have also been reported in silbinin. In the present study, we investigated the anticancer effects of silibinin and apoptosis through cell cycle arrest on prostate cancer cell PC-3. We performed cell viability by MTT assay and western blotting to confirm cell cycle check point proteins such as cyclin A/D1/E and cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 2/4/6. To quantify silibinin-induced apoptotic cell death of PC-3, Annexin V and PI double staining was performed by flow cytometry, by which its cell distribution was determined. As a result, silibinin inhibited the cell growth of PC-3 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner, and its treatment resulted in cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase. Also the level of cell cycle check point proteins (cyclin, CDK) was decreased by silibinin in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, we suggest that apoptosis of prostate cancer cell line PC-3 induced by silibinin is associated with cell cycle arrest through decrease of cell cycle check point proteins, caspase-3 activation and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.451-458
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• 2011

Cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine), a nucleoside derivative isolated from Cordyceps militaris, is reported to have antitumor effects. However, neither its molecular mechanism nor its molecular targets are well understood. In the present study, molecular mechanisms for the anti-tumor effects of cordycepin were investigated in human prostate cancer PC-3 cells. The MTT assay was used to detect cell viability. Annexin V/FITC assay, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and $Ca^{2+}$ flux were used to assess for the presence of apoptosis. Western blot analysis was used to detect protein expression. Treatment of cordycepin resulted in significantly decreased cell viability of PC-3 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. A dose-dependent apoptotic cell death was also measured by flow cytometery analysis. Molecular mechanistic studies of apoptosis unraveled cordycepin treatment resulted in significant mitochondrial dysfunction, ROS production, and elevation of $Ca^{2+}$ concentrations. These phenomena were followed activation of caspase-3, subsequently leading to PARP cleavage and cell apoptosis. Taken together, cordycepin induces apoptosis in PC-3 cells through regulation of a mitochondrial mediated pathway.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.150-154
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• 2008

Butein is a one of polyphenolic compound widely available in numerous plants. It has broad biological activities including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, which contributed to its protective effects against cancer. Evidences that butein influence proliferation of tumor cells make it important to determine how butein affects cell death of various cancers. In this study, we show that butein, a phenolic compound, induces apoptosis in human T lymphoma jurkat cells. We found that treatment of cells with butein increased apoptosis in a dose- and time- dependent manner as determined by staining cells with Annexin V and 7AAD. There was no significant apoptotic cell death when normal lymphocytes and monocytes from healthy donor were treated with butein. We also found caspase-3 activity was increased during butein-induced apoptosis. The buteininduced apoptotic cell death was blocked by the treatment of cells with caspase-3 inhibitor. These results indicate that butein has the potential to provide an effective strategy against cancer with the advantage of being widely avalible.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.167-178
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• 2002

Objective : The present study was performed to investigate whether apoptosis occur in human embryos by annexin staining and detect the expression of Fas, Fas-ligand (FasL), Bax, and Bcl-2 in human fragmented embryos derived from IVF-ET by immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis. Materials and Methods: Using annexin staining, immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis on normal and fragmented embryos, we were able to detect apoptotsis and apoptotic gene products in fragmented embryos. Result: Phosphatidylserine (PS) translocation, the marker for apoptosis, were detected frequently in fragmented embryos. Bcl-2 and Bax protein were detected in both fragmented and non-fragmented embryos. When fragmented embryos compared to normal embryos, immunofluorescent intensity of Bcl-2 tended to be lower in fragmented embryos. Bax gene expression increased in the fragmented embryos compared to the normal embryos. This result supports a model in which the molar ratio of Bcl-2 to Bax determines whether apoptosis induced or inhibited in human embryo. Fas was highly expressed in human preimplantation embryos but not FasL. It suggests that embryo may undergo apoptosis by binding with FasL produced by follicular or immune cells. Conclusion: The over expression of Bax and Fas will trigger apoptosis to lead embryo fragmentation and change embryo to be nonviable.

• The Korean journal of internal medicine
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.146-155
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• 2019

Background/Aims: Indoxyl sulfate (IS) is a uremic toxin and an important causative factor in the progression of chronic kidney disease. Recently, paricalcitol (19-nor-1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D2) was shown to exhibit protective effects in kidney injury. Here, we investigated the effects of paricalcitol treatment on IS-induced renal tubular injury. Methods: The fluorescent dye 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate was used to measure intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) following IS administration in human renal proximal tubular epithelial (HK-2) cells. The effects of IS on cell viability were determined using MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assays and levels of apoptosis-related proteins (Bcl-2-associated protein X [Bax] and B-cell lymphoma 2 [Bcl-2]), nuclear $factor-{\kappa}B$ ($NF-{\kappa}B$) p65, and phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and protein kinase B (Akt) were determined by semiquantitative immunoblotting. The promoter activity of $NF-{\kappa}B$ was measured by luciferase assays and apoptosis was determined by f low cytometry of cells stained with f luorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated Annexin V protein. Results: IS treatment increased ROS production, decreased cell viability and induced apoptosis in HK-2 cells. IS treatment increased the expression of apoptosis-related protein Bax, decreased Bcl-2 expression, and activated phosphorylation of MAPK, $NF-{\kappa}B$ p65, and Akt. In contrast, paricalcitol treatment decreased Bax expression, increased Bcl-2 expression, and inhibited phosphorylation of MAPK, $NF-{\kappa}B$ p65, and Akt in HK-2 cells. $NF-{\kappa}B$ promoter activity was increased following IS, administration and was counteracted by pretreatment with paricalcitol. Additionally, flow cytometry analysis revealed that IS-induced apoptosis was attenuated by paricalcitol treatment, which resulted in decreased numbers of fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated Annexin V positive cells. Conclusions: Treatment with paricalcitol inhibited IS-induced apoptosis by regulating MAPK, $NF-{\kappa}B$, and Akt signaling pathway in HK-2 cells.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.169-178
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• 2020

L-ascorbic acid (L-AA; vitamin C) induces apoptosis in cancer cells. This study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of L-AA-induced apoptosis in human laryngeal epidermoid carcinoma Hep-2 cells. L-AA suppressed the viability of Hep-2 cells and induced apoptosis, as shown by the cleavage and condensation of nuclear chromatin and increased number of Annexin V-positive cells. L-AA decreased Bcl-2 protein expression but upregulated Bax protein levels. In addition, cytochrome c release from the mitochondria into the cytosol and activation of caspase-9, -8, and -3 were enhanced by L-AA treatment. Furthermore, apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) and endonuclease G (EndoG) were translocated into the nucleus during apoptosis of L-AA-treated Hep-2 cells. L-AA effectively inhibited the constitutive nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation and attenuated the nuclear expression of the p65 subunit of NF-κB. Interestingly, L-AA treatment of Hep-2 cells markedly activated Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK; extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, p38, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase [JNK]) and and LY294002 (Akt inhibitor), SB203580 (p38 inhibitor) or SP600125 (a JNK inhibitor) decreased the levels of Annexin V-positive cells. These results suggested that L-AA induces the apoptosis of Hep-2 cells via the nuclear translocation of AIF and EndoG by modulating the Bcl-2 family and MAPK/Akt signaling pathways.