• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9655-9660
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• 2014

Background: Nigella Sativa (NS) is an herb from the Ranunculaceae family that exhibits numerous medicinal properties and has been used as important constituent of many complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs). The ability of NS to kill cancer cells such as PC3, HeLa and hepatoma cells is well established. However, our understanding of the mode of death caused by NS remains nebulous. The objective of this study was to gain further insight into the mode and mechanism of death caused by NS in breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Materials and Methods: Human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) were treated with a methanolic extract of NS, and a dose- and time-dependent study was performed. The $IC_{50}$ was calculated using a Cell Titer $Blue^{(R)}$ viability assay assay, and evidence for DNA fragmentation was obtained by fluorescence microscopy TUNEL assay. Gene expression was also profiled for a number of apoptosis-related genes (Caspase-3, -8, -9 and p53 genes) through qPCR. Results: The $IC_{50}$ of MCF-7 cells was $62.8{\mu}L/mL$. When MCF-7 cells were exposed to $50{\mu}L/mL$ and $100{\mu}L/mL$ NS for 24h, 48h and 72h, microscopic examination (TUNEL assay) revealed a dose- and time-dependent increase in apoptosis. Similarly, the expression of the Caspase-3, -8, -9 and p53 genes increased significantly according to the dose and time. Conclusions: NS induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells through both the p53 and caspase pathways. NS could potentially represent an alternative source of medicine for breast cancer therapy.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.231-237
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• 2014

This research showed that delphinidin, an anthocyanin present in blueberry, induced apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells as well as mediated anti-cancer effects in vivo. As a result, growth of cancer cells as assessed by MTT assay decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. Chromatin condensation by DAPI staining significantly increased in a concentration-dependent manner, indicating apoptosis. The level of p53-protein increased while those of anti-apoptotic molecules (Bcl-2, p-$GSK3{\beta}$) decreased in the western blot. Tumor size decreased in cells treated with 10 mg/kg of delphinidin compared with the control group in vivo. Cell apoptosis assessed by TUNEL assay significantly increased, and tumor inhibitory effect was confirmed. Therefore, delphinidin can be developed for cancer preventive medicine due to its growth inhibitory effects and induction of apoptosis in human breast cancer cells.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2000

Purpose :The effect of PTK inhibitors (herbimycin A and genistein) on the induction of radiation-induced apoptosis in Ph-positive KS62 leukemia cell line was investigated. Materials and Methods :K562 cells in exponential growth phase were irradiated with a linear accelerator at room temperature. For 6 MV X-ray irradiation and drug treatment, cultures were initiated at 2×106 cells/mL. The cells were irradiated with 10 Gy. Stock solutions of herbimycin A and genistein were prepared in dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO). After incubation at 37$^{\circ}C$ for 0$\~$48 h, the extent of apoptosis was determined using agarose gel electrophoresis and TUNEL assay. The progression of cells through the cell cycle after irradiation and drug treatment was also determined with flow cytometry. Western blot analysis was used to monitor bel-2, bel-X$_{L}$ and bax protein levels. Results :Treatment with 10 Gy X-irradiation did not result in the induction of apoptosis. The HMA alone (500 nM) also failed to induce apoptosis. By contrast, incubation of K562 cells with HMA after irradiation resulted in a substantial induction of nuclear condensation and fragmentation by agarose gel electro-phoresis and TUNEL assay. Genistein failed to enhance the ability of X-irradiation to induce DNA fragmentation. Enhancement of apoptosis by HMA was not attributable to downregulation of the bel-2 or bel-X$_{L}$ anti-apoptotic proteins. When the cells were irradiated and maintained with HMA, the percentage of cells in G2/M phase decreased to 30$\~$40$\%$ at 48 h. On the other hand, cells exposed to 10 Gy X-irradiation alone or maintained with genistein did not show marked cell cycle redistribution. Conclusion : We have shown that nanomolar concentrations of the PTK inhibitor HMA synergize with X-irradiation in inducing the apoptosis in Ph (+) K562 leukemia cell line. While, genistein, a PTK inhibitor which is not selective for p210$^{bcr/abl}$ failed to enhance the radiation induced apoptosis in KS62 cells. It is unlikely that the ability of HMA to enhance apoptosis in K562 cells is attributable to bel-2 family. It is plausible that the relationship between cell cycle delays and cell death is essential for drug development based on molecular targeting designed to modify radiation-induced apoptosis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.671-679
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• 2016

Extracts from spinach, cabbage, and onion are known to possess various instructive characteristics, including antioxidant and anti-inflammation activities. Spinach, cabbage, and onion are consumed worldwide and represent important sources of dietary phytochemicals with proven antioxidant properties, such as flavonoids and phenolic acids. Food-derived flavonoids and phenolic compounds are expected to be promising drugs for cancer. In the present study, we investigated the effects of methanol extracts of spinach, cabbage, and onion on cell proliferation and apoptosis in human gastric and breast cancer cells. Proliferation rates of AGS, MDA-MB-231, and SK-BR-3 cells were determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The methanol extracts of spinach, cabbage, and onion inhibited proliferation of cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. 4',6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining revealed that chromatin condensation significantly increased compared with the control. In the results of MTT assay and DAPI staining, onion extract was the most effective in inhibiting cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis. To assess changes in protein expression level by onion extract, we identified Bax (pro-apoptotic), Bcl-2 (anti-apoptotic), and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) protein by western blot analysis. The expression of Bax and cleaved-PARP increased, whereas expression of Bcl-2 was decreased compared with the control. These results suggest that spinach, cabbage, and onion extracts suppressed growth of human gastric cancer AGS, human breast cancer MDA-MB-231, and SK-BR-3 cells through induction of apoptosis. Among the extracts, onion extract had stronger anti-cancer and apoptosis induction effects than spinach and cabbage extracts. Further, onion extract more effectively induced apoptosis of human gastric cancer cells than human breast cancer cells. Therefore, further studies are needed to determine the anti-cancer effects of onion extracts in vivo. Onion extract can be developed as a chemopreventive or therapeutic agent for gastric cancer.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.209-212
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• 2003

A wide variety of cancer chemotherapeutic agents have been shown to induce programmed cell death (PCD, apoptosis) in various tumor cell fines in vitro. This study was performed to know how ginsenoside Rc affect on SK-MEL-28 cell line, and how they induce the apoptosis. SK-MEL-28 cell lines were treated with various concentrations of ginsenoside Rc and cultured for various times. At cell cycle analysis, cells arrested at G2/M phase by ginsenoside Rc and apotosis percentage increased along with increasing concentration and time. TUNEL assay was performed to know whether SK-MEL-28 cell fine die as apoptosis or necrosis by ginsenoside Rc. As a result, fluorescence increased along with increasing time and concentration. Fas expressed on SK-MEL-28 cell lines membrane by ginsenoside Rc was identified using flow cytometer. Ginsenoside Rc induced apoptosis against SK-MEL-28 cell fines, and the apoptosis mechanism was identified as Fas-mediated apotosis.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.364-370
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• 2013

Resveratrol (trans-3,4'-trihydroxystillbene), a naturally occurring polyphenolic antioxidant found in grapes and red wine, elicits diverse biochemical responses and demonstrates anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and anti-proliferative effects in several cell types. Previously, resveratrol was shown to regulate differentiation and inflammation in rabbit articular chondrocytes, while the direct production of nitric oxide (NO) in these cells by treatment with the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) led to apoptosis. In this study, the effect of resveratrol on NO-induced apoptosis in rabbit articular chondrocytes was investigated. Resveratrol dramatically reduced NO-induced apoptosis in chondrocytes, as determined by phase-contrast microscopy, the MTT assay, FACS analysis, and DAPI staining. Treatment with resveratrol inhibited the SNP-induced expression of p53 and p21 and reduced the expression of procaspase-3 in chondrocytes, as detected by western blot analysis. SNP-induced degradation of I-kappa B alpha ($I{\kappa}B-{\alpha}$) was rescued by resveratrol treatment, and the SN50 peptide-mediated inhibition of NF-kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$) activity potently blocked SNP-induced caspase-3 activation and apoptosis. Our results suggest that resveratrol inhibits NO-induced apoptosis through the NF-${\kappa}B$ pathway in articular chondrocytes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.1627-1635
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• 2013

Mitochondria often play central roles in apoptotic pathways, and disruption of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential (${\Delta}{\psi}m$) has been observed in various cells undergoing apoptosis. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection induces apoptosis in permissive cells; however, investigations of mitochondria-targeted apoptosis in HCMV-infected human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cells have been limited. Here, we investigated the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway in HCMV-infected HFF cells. Flow cytometry analysis using JC-1 revealed that HCMV infection induces disruption of ${\Delta}{\psi}m$ in HFF cells when administered 24 h post-infection (hpi), and this disruption was maximized at 48 hpi. Moreover, cytochrome c, normally a mitochondrial inner membrane protein, was detected in cytoplasmic extracts of HCMV-infected cells, but not mock-infected cells, by western blot analysis at 24 hpi. A caspase activity assay based on fluorescence spectrophotometry using a fluorogenic substrate revealed an increase in caspase-3 activity at 48 hpi in HCMV-infected cells. Caspase-8 activity was increased at 72 hpi in HCMV-infected cells. These results imply that HCMV infection induces mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in HFF cells.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.349-353
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• 2009

Lysophosphatidic Acid (LPA) is a bioactive lysophospholipid that is a potent signaling molecule able to provoke a variety of cellular responses in many cell types such as differentiation, inflammation and apoptosis. In this study, we have investigated the effect of LPA on Nitric oxide (NO)-induced apoptosis in rabbit articular chondrocytes. LPA dramatically reduced NO induced apoptosis of chondrocytes determined by phase contrast microscope and MTT assay. When chondrocytes alone treated with LPA, LPA induced phosphorylation of p70S6kinase, a serine/threonine kinase that acts downstream of phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3) and phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 (PDK-1) in the PI3 kinase pathway, dose-dependently detected by Western blot analysis. Phosphorylation of p70S6k with LPA was reduced expression of p53 in NO-induced apoptosis of chondrocytes. Also, inhibition of p70S6kinase with rapamycin was enhanced expression of p53 in chondrocytes. Our findings collectively suggest that LPA regulates NO induced apoptosis through p70S6kinase pathway in rabbit articular chondrocytes.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.15-25
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• 2015

Objectives : In this study, we investigated the anti-proliferative and apoptosis inducing effect of water extract of Chelidonium majus (CM) on human breast cancer cell MDA-MB-231. Methods : The MTT assay was used to assess cell proliferation. The expression of apoptosis related gene was assessed by quantitative Real-time PCR. Cell apoptosis detected by flow cytometry using Annexin-V/PI staining. Results : Our data revealed that CM inhibited the cell growth in a dose dependent manner (0, 62.5, 125, 250, 500 μg/ml). CM increased mRNA expression of pro-apoptotic genes Bax, caspase-3, and caspase-9. Annexin-V/PI staining assays revealed that apoptosis-induced cell death increased in a dose-dependent manner in cells. Conclusions : CM induces cell death in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell and shows potentials for use in cancer therapy as apoptosis-inducing agent.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.2313-2318
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• 2014

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-${\gamma}$), a ligand-dependent nuclear transcription factor, has been found to widely exist in tumor tissues and plays an important role in affecting tumor cell growth. In this study, we investigated the effect of PPAR-${\gamma}$ on aspects of the cervical cancer malignant phenotype, such as cell proliferation and apoptosis. Cell growth assay, Western blotting, Annexin V and flow cytometry analysis consistently showed that treatment with troglitazone (TGZ, a PPAR-${\gamma}$ agonist) led to dose-dependent inhibition of cervical cancer cell growth through apoptosis, whereas T0070907 (another PPAR-${\gamma}$ antagonist) had no effect on Hela cell proliferation and apoptosis. Furthermore, we also detected the protein expression of p53, p21 and Mdm2 to explain the underlying mechanism of PPAR-${\gamma}$ on cellular apoptosis. Our work, finally, demonstrated the existence of the TGZ-PPAR-${\gamma}$-p53 signaling pathway to be a critical regulator of cell apoptosis. These results suggested that PPAR-${\gamma}$ may be a potential therapeutic target for cervical cancer.