Key result
Trichosanthis Fructus methylene chloride fraction induces apoptosis and inhibits leukemic cell proliferation at ~8 µg/ml.
Why the study?
The apoptotic mechanism of the methylene chloride fraction of Trichosanthis Fructus in human leukemic U937 cells was not previously investigated.
Does the methylene chloride fraction of Trichosanthis Fructus induce apoptosis in human leukemic U937 cells?
Does the methylene chloride fraction of Trichosanthis Fructus induce apoptosis in human leukemic U937 cells?
p-value: p=<0.05
MCTF induces apoptosis in human leukemic U937 cells via a mitochondrial-mediated pathway, suggesting potential as a chemopreventive agent.
No immediate clinical implications in leukemia; leaves open hypothesis-generating potential for chemopreventive effects in preclinical models.
Trichosanthis kirilowii MAXIM has been used as a folk remedy to treat diabetes, leukemia, and breast cancer. In the present study, the apoptotic mechanism of the methylene chloride fraction of Trichosanthis Fructus (MCTF) was investigated in human leukemic U937 cells. MCTF exhibited antiproliferative effectsagainst U937 cells (IC50=ca. 8 microg/ml). Apoptotic bodies were observed in MCTF-treated U937 cells in the TUNEL assay. We also confirmed that MCTF significantly increases annexin V(+)/propidium iodide-cells using FACS analysis. MCTF treatment activated caspase-8, -9 and -3, and led to cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase and release of cytochrome c into cytosol in a concentration-dependent manner, while MCTF did not affect Bax or Bcl-2 protein levels as shown by Western blot analysis. Taken together, these results indicate that MCTF can induce apoptosis in U937 cells chiefly via a mitochondrial-mediated pathway and suggest that Trichosanthis Fructus can be used in cancer treatment as a chemopreventive agent.
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Lee et al. (2006) studied Leukemia. Methylene chloride fraction of Trichosanthis Fructus (MCTF) vs. Untreated control was evaluated on Cell proliferation/viability (IC50) (p=<0.05). The methylene chloride fraction of Trichosanthis Fructus exhibited strong antiproliferative effects against human leukemic U937 cells with an IC50 of approximately 8 µg/ml and induced apoptosis.