[Effect of berberine on the differentiation and apoptosis of K562 cell line].
OBJECTIVE
To study the effect of Berberine on proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of K562 cells for supplying the theoretical evidence on the clinical application of Coptis chinensis to cure chronic myeloid leukemia.


METHODS
The proliferation-inhibiting capability of K562 cells was investigated by MTT assay and colony conform test. The apoptosis effect of Berberine on K562 cells were analyzed by Wright's-Giemsa staining; DNA fragmentation was performed by agarose gel electrophoresis. The cell cycle distribution and the cell surface marker-cluster of differentiation were determined by flow cytometry.


RESULTS
Berberine effectively inhibited the proliferation of K562 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner. In addition, when combined with different concentrations of Ara-C, the cells' viability percentage was prominently higher than only Berberine used. Treated with Berberine for 48 hours, the cells could be induced differentiation towards erythrocyte, granulocyte and megakaryocyte and with the treated time extending, the percentage of apoptosis cells gradually increased.


CONCLUSIONS
Berberine can efficiently inhibit the proliferation of K562 cells, maybe by the way of blocking cells at the stage of G0/G1 and (or) G2, then leading to its apoptosis and differentiation.
Jin
Lin
L
Biomedicine Research & Development Center, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China. jinlin795@163.com
Liao
Hong-Juan
HJ
Zhang
Mei-Ying
MY
Liu
Qiu-Ying
QY
Wang
Yi-Fei
YF
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D001599:Berberine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D020014:K562 Cells
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D003561:Cytarabine; D001599:Berberine