title: Brucea javanica fruit induces cytotoxicity and apoptosis in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines.
abstract: Brucea javanica fruit is thought to have anticancer properties in Chinese medicine and its extract has been shown to possess antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic activities on human carcinoma cells. In the present study we demonstrated for the first time that Fructus Bruceae extract exhibited cytotoxic effects on the three pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines, PANC-1, SW1990 and CAPAN-1; the effects were comparable to those exhibited by camptothecin in our culture system. In addition, Fructus Bruceae extract induced fragmentation of genomic DNA, as evidenced by Hoechst staining and the cell death detection ELISA(PLUS) assay. Western blot analysis further showed down-regulation of pro-caspase 3 protein expression, indicating that the observed cytotoxic effects of the extract were associated with induction of apoptosis. These findings are not only significant in the development of traditional Chinese medicine as an alternative treatment for pancreatic cancer, but also in the elucidation of the potential mechanism(s) of Fructus Bruceae extract in cancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, Faculty of Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Sin Ting
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Zhi-Xiu
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Po Sing
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Leung
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D032269:Brucea / Q000737:chemistry*; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D053938:DNA Fragmentation / Q000187:drug effects; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D053148:Caspase 3