• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.164-171
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• 2017

Our previous study suggested that S-allylcysteine (SAC) inhibits the proliferation of the human cervical cancer cell line, HeLa, at least in part through the induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. To further analyze the specific molecular mechanism(s) by which SAC mediates its antiproliferative effects, this study examined the role of SAC in regulating the protein expression of initiator caspase (caspase-9), effector caspases (caspase-3 and caspase-7), and poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) in HeLa. Western blot analysis showed that when cells were treated with 50 mM SAC for 48 hr, the expression of procaspase-3, -7, and -9 and PARP was reduced by 94%, 38%, 95%, and 64%, respectively, as compared to the untreated control. In contrast, the expression of caspase-3, -7, and -9 and cleaved-PARP was markedly increased by SAC treatment. The SAC-mediated changes in the expression of these proteins were correlated with the concomitant inhibition of cellular proliferation by SAC. The cell proliferation assay showed that HeLa treatment with more than 20 mM SAC for 6-48 hr resulted in both concentration- and time-dependent inhibition of cellular proliferation. These results indicate that the SAC-induced antiproliferative effect in HeLa may be mediated at least in part through the activation of caspase-9, followed by the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-7 as well as the inactivation of PARP, thus leading to cellular apoptosis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.3 s.70
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• pp.397-405
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• 2005

Sulforaphane, an isothiocyanate derived from hydrolysis of glucoraphanin in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, was shown to induce phase II detoxification enzymes and inhibit chemically induced mammary tumors in rodents. Recently, sulforaphane is known to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human cancer cells, however its molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. In the present study, we demonstrated that sulforaphane acted to inhibit proliferation and induce morphological changes of human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells. Treatment of HeLa cells with $10{\mu}M\;or\;15{\mu}M$ sulforaphane resulted in significant G2/M cell cycle arrest as determined by flow cytometry. Moreover, $20{\mu}M$ sulforaphane significantly induced the population of sub-G1 cells (9.83 fold of control). This anti-proliferative effect of sulforaphane was accompanied by a marked inhibition of cyclin A and cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk)4 protein and concomitant induction of Cdc2, Cdk inhibitor p16 and p21. However, sulforaphane did not affect the levels of cyelooxygenases and telomere-regulatory gene products. Although further studies are needed, the present work suggests that sulforaphane may be a potential chemoprevetive/ chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of human cancer cells.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.14-30
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• 2006

Purpose : This study was conducted to investigate the inhibitory effects of Cortex ulmi pumilae on cell proliferation in HeLa cell. Methods : Human uterine cervical carcinoma HeLa cells were cultured in the 1%, 5% and 10% concentration of Cortex ulmi pumilae solution for 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours for the direct inhibitory effects of Cortex ulmi pumilae. Afterwards, we executed the analysis of the effect of Cortex ulmi pumilae solution on cell proliferation inhibition using XTT assay, DNA fragmentation, molecular biological method through MAP kinase activity and FACS analysis of caspase activity in the HeLa cells. Results : After 48 and 72 hours cultivation, the HeLa cells showed the concentration-dependently significant increase in all Cortex ulmi pumilae solution containing groups compared to the control. In the FACS analysis, all Cortex ulmi pumilae solution containing groups showed concentration-dependent increase compared to the control after 24 hours cultivation and the caspase-3 activities were decreased in all Cortex ulmi pumilae solution containing groups compared to the control after 24, 48 and 72 hours cultivation. After 48 and 72 hours cultivation, we could examined the apparent DNA fragmentation in all Cortex ulmi pumilae solution containing groups. In the XTT study, all Cortex ulmi pumilae solution containing groups showed concentration-dependent decrease compared to the control after 24 and 72 hours cultivation but 10% group after 48 hours and 5% and 10% groups after 72hours were presumed statistically significant differences. The expressions of MAP kinase were decreased in all Cortex ulmi pumilae solution containing groups compared to the control after 24, 48 and 72 hours cultivation. Conclusion : From this study we could suggest that Cortex ulmi pumilae be available to the inhibition of apoptosis of human cervical carcinoma cell line in vitro.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.51-60
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• 2005

Purpose : Selective inhibition of multiple molecular targets may improve the antitumor activity of radiation. Two specific inhibitors of selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were combined with radiation on the HeLa cell line. To investigate cooperative mechanism with selective COX-2 inhibitor and EGFR blocker, in vitro experiments were done. Materials and Methods : Antitumor effect was obtained by growth inhibition and apoptosis analysis by annexin V-Flous method. Radiation modulation effects were determined by the clonogenic cell survival assay. Surviving fractions at 2 Gy ($SF_2$) and dose enhancement ratio at a surviving fraction of 0.25 were evaluated. To investigate the mechanism of the modulation of radiosensitivity, the cell cycle analyses were done by flow cytometry. The bcl-2 and bax expressions were analyzed by western blot. Results : A cooperative effect were observed on the apoptosis of the HeLa ceil line when combination of the two drugs, AG 1478 and NS 398 with radiation at the lowest doses, apoptosis of $22.70\%$ compare with combination of the one drug with radiation, apoptosis of $8.49\%$. In cell cycle analysis, accumulation of cell on $G_0/G_l$ phase and decrement of S phase fraction was observed from 24 hours to 72 hours after treatment with radiation, AG 1478 and NS 398. The combination of NS 398 and AG 1478 enhanced radiosensitivity on a concentration-dependent manner in HeLa cells with dose enhancement ratios of 3.00 and $SF_2$ of 0.12 but the combination of one drug with radiation was not enhanced radlosensitivity with dose enhancement ratios of 1.12 and SF2 of 0.68 (p=0.005). The expression levels of bcl-2 and bax were reduced when combined with AG 1478 and NS 398. Conclusion : Our results indicate that the selective COX-2 inhibitor and EGFR blocker combined with radiation have potential additive or cooperative effects on radiation treatment and may act through various mechanisms including direct inhibition of tumor cell proliferation, suppression of tumor cell cycle progression and inhibition of anti-apoptotic proteins.

• BMB Reports
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• v.45 no.9
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• pp.526-531
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• 2012

Many malignant tumors become resistant to tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-${\alpha}$)-induced cell death during carcinogenesis. In the present study, we examined whether parkin acts as a tumor suppressor in HeLa cells, a human cervical cancer cell line resistant to TNF-${\alpha}$-induced cell death. TNF-${\alpha}$-treatment alone did not affect HeLa cell viability. However, expression of parkin restored TNF-${\alpha}$-induced apoptosis in HeLa cells. Increased cell death was due to the activation of the apoptotic pathway. Expression of parkin in TNF-${\alpha}$-treated HeLa cells stimulated cleavage of the pro-apoptotic proteins caspase-8, -9, -3, -7 and poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP). In addition, parkin expression resulted in decreased expression of the caspase inhibitory protein, survivin. These results suggest that parkin acts as a tumor suppressor in human cervical cancer cells by modulating survivin expression and caspase activity. We propose that this pathway is a novel molecular mechanism by which parkin functions as a tumor suppressor.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.14-22
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• 2009

In vitro cytotoxicity of 23 alkyl phenols (APs) on human cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa) was determined using the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) cytotoxicity assay. Two different sets of descriptors were used to construct the calibration model based on Genetic Algorithm-Multiple Linear Regression (GA-MLR) based on the experimental data. A statistically robust Structure-Activity Relationships (QSAR) model was achieved ($R^2$=95.05%, $Q^2_{LOO}$=91.23%, F=72.02 and SE= 0.046) using three Dragon descriptors based on Me (0D-Constitutional descriptor), BELp8 (2D-Burden eigenvalue descriptor) and HATS8p (3D-GETAWAY descriptor). However, external validation could not fully prove its validity of the selected QSAR in characterization of the cytotoxicity of APs towards HeLa cells. Nevertheless, the cytotoxicity profiles showed a finding that 4-n-octylphenol (4-NOP), 4-tert-octyl-phenol (4-TOP), 4-n-nonylphenol (4-NNP) had a more potent cytotoxic effect than other APs tested, inferring that increased length and molecular bulkiness of the substituent had important influence on the LDH cytotoxicity.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.362-367
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• 2003

Coriolus versicolor was grown in a defined synthetic liquid medium and citrus extracts, and the culture extracts were examined for antioxidant activity, nitrite scavenging activity, and in vitro anticancer activity against HeLa, PC-3, HepG2, and A-549 cells. Whereas the culture extracts obtained from the synthetic medium and the un-inoculated citrus extract showed 60 and 22％ of the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenger activity, the culture extracts obtained from the citrus extracts medium exhibited antioxidant activity up to 89％. The nitrite scavenging activity of the culture extracts obtained from the citrus extracts medium and the synthetic liquid medium, and the un-inoculated citrus extract at pH 1.2 were up to 67, 55, and 34％, respectively. The culture extract obtained from the synthetic liquid medium inhibited the growth of HeLa, PC-3, HepG2, and A-549 up to 66, 23, 18, 10％ at 48 h of incubation, respectively; however, the culture extract obtained from the citrus extracts medium inhibited the growth of HeLa, PC-3, HepG2, and A-549 up to 75, 82, 55, and 82％, respectively. As a negative control, the un-inoculated citrus extract was examined in the same way and inhibited the growth of HeLa, PC-3, and HepG2 cells 20, 6, and 15％ at 48 h incubation, respectively; the inhibition of A-549 cell growth was negligible. These results clearly showed that the fermentation of C. versicolor in the citrus extracts rather than in the defined synthetic medium significantly enhanced the anticancer activity, antioxidant activity, and nitrite scavenging activity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.582-590
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• 2023

Stress granules (SGs) are cytoplasmic aggregates of RNA-protein complexes that form in response to various cellular stresses and are known to restrict viral access to host translational machinery. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of SGs during viral infections require further exploration. In this study, we evaluated the effect of SG formation on cellular responses to coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection. Sodium arsenite (AS)-mediated SG formation suppressed cell death induced by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a)/cycloheximide (CHX) treatment in HeLa cells, during which G3BP1, an essential SG component, contributed to the modulation of apoptosis pathways. SG formation in response to AS treatment blocked CVB3-mediated cell death, possibly via the reduction of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, we examined whether AS treatment would affect small extracellular vesicle (sEV) formation and secretion during CVB3 infection and modulate human monocytic cell (THP-1) response. CVB3-enriched sEVs isolated from HeLa cells were able to infect and replicate THP-1 cells without causing cytotoxicity. Interestingly, sEVs from AS-treated HeLa cells inhibited CVB3 replication in THP-1 cells. These findings suggest that SG formation during CVB3 infection modulates cellular response by inhibiting the release of CVB3-enriched sEVs.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.173-178
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• 2017

We investigated the efficacy of single compound of plant extract in coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection. CVB3 is a main cause of Hand-foot-mouth diseases (HFMD) and viral myocarditis in children and adult. Several single compounds of plant extract were purified by HPLC and tested as antiviral drug candidate. Among them, kaempferol was selected to effective anti-enterovirus compound by HeLa cells survival assay. CVB3 infected HeLa cells were treated with kaempferol ($100{\mu}g/ml-100ng/ml$) and their antiviral effect was confirmed. After 16 hours of treatment, HeLa cells were lysed and proteins were extracted for western blot analysis. CVB3 viral capsid protein VP1 production and transcription factor eIF4G-1 cleavage was significantly decreased in $100{\mu}g/ml$ kaempferol treatment. Virus replication was observed by virus RNA amplification. Kaempferol strongly reduced virus positive and negative strand RNA amplification. Moreover, MAPK signal induced by CVB3 infection, pERK and pmTOR, kaempferol treatment significantly inhibited the activity. Plant extract single compound, kaempferol, is a strong candidate to be developed non-toxic anti-enterovirus treatment agent.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.294-299
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• 2008

Elevated expression of SMYD3 is a frequent genetic abnormality in several malignancies. Few studies knocking down SMYD3 expression in cervical carcinoma cells have been performed to date. In this paper, we established an inducible short hairpin RNA expression system to examine its role in maintaining the malignant phenotype of HeLa cells. After being induced by doxycycline, SMYD3 mRNA and protein expression were both reduced, and significant reductions in cell proliferation, colony formation and migration/invasion activity were observed in the SMYD3-silenced HeLa cells. The percentage of cells in sub-G1 was elevated and DNA ladder formation could be detected, indicating potent induction of apoptosis by SMYD3 knockdown. These findings imply that SMYD3 plays crucial roles in HeLa cell proliferation and migration/invasion, and that it may be a useful therapeutic target in human cervical carcinomas.