title: Gleditsia sinensis fruit extract-induced apoptosis involves changes of reactive oxygen species level, mitochondrial membrane depolarization and caspase 3 activation.
abstract: Recently, we have shown that the anomalous fruit extract of Gleditsia sinensis (GSE) processes apoptotic activity on numerous solid tumour and leukaemia cell lines as well as primary cultured leukaemia cells obtained from bone marrow aspirate of patients. GSE treated cancer cells exhibited apoptotic features as readily illustrated by morphological investigation, DNA fragmentation analysis and TUNEL labelling methods. Elevation of intracellular superoxide dismutase activity was observed. However, the detailed mechanism still remains undefined. Here we further demonstrated that cell cycle arrest, increment of hydrogen peroxide production, changes of intracellular acid-base equilibrium and mitochondrial membrane potential depolarization (DeltaPsi(m)) were induced from cancer cells after GSE incubation. Caspase 3 protease activity was significantly enhanced upon GSE treatment. Taken together, a defined signaling pathway for the mechanistic action of GSE on cancer cells was worked out.
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory of the Institute of Molecular Technology for Drug Discovery and Synthesis, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chung Hin
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chui
authors.forename: Fung Yi
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Albert Sun Chi
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Gregory Yin Ming
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Raymond Siu Ming
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Ka Bik
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Stanton Hon Lung
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kok
authors.forename: Terry Tin Lok Au
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Yeung
authors.forename: Ivy Tuang Ngo
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Teo
authors.forename: Mable Yin Chun
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Yau
authors.forename: Filly
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Chor Hing
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Johnny Cheuk On
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000136:Acid-Base Equilibrium / Q000187:drug effects; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry*; D031501:Gleditsia / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism; D007425:Intracellular Membranes / Q000187:drug effects; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases