title: Apoptosis induced by dioscin in Hela cells.
abstract: Dioscin, a saponin extracted from the root of Polygonatum Zanlanscianense Pamp, markedly inhibited proliferation of Hela cells. The results indicated that Hela cells underwent apoptosis in dose- and time-dependent manners when treated with Dioscin. Caspase-3, -8 and -9 activities were also detected. The low enzymatic activity of caspase-8 and high activity of caspase-9 showed that the mitochondrial pathway was activated in apoptosis. The reduced expression of the survival protein Bcl-2 also confirmed this result. These studies may be significant in finding a new drug to treat human cervical cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Mingjie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Zhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ju
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D004144:Diosgenin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; C019357:dioscin; D020169:Caspases; D004144:Diosgenin