title: Anti-cancer effects of 20(S)-protopanoxadiol on human acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines Reh and RS4;11.
abstract: Although the treatment outcome of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has been improved in the past decades by combination chemotherapy, toxic side-effects of chemotherapeutics remain a major problem. Therefore, new alternative agents with low toxicity are urgently needed. Natural products provide a rich source of screening potential anti-cancer drugs. 20(S)-protopanoxadiol (PPD), a major gastrointestinal metabolic product of ginsenosides, exhibits promising anti-cancer activity with low toxicity. However, the anti-cancer activity of PPD against ALL has not been evaluated. In this study, we examined the anti-cancer effect of PPD on ALL cell lines Reh and RS4;11. The growth of leukemia cells and normal cells was evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The cell cycle, apoptosis and differentiation was determined by flow cytometry. The results showed that PPD inhibited the growth of Reh and RS4;11 cells, but had little toxicity to peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). PPD also blocked cell cycle progression from G0/G1 phase and induced cell differentiation. However, cell apoptosis was not affected. These data indicate that PPD exerts anti-cancer effects by stimulating differentiation and inhibiting growth and cell cycle progression of ALL cells.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Pharmacology & Toxicology, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development (IMPLAD), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, and Department of Hematology, Beijing Children's Hospital, No. 151, Malianwa North Road, Haidian District, 100193, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Qiong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xinmin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Nicolaas H C
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Brons
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steinmetz
authors.forename: Yali
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Yonghong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Huyong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000473:pathology*; D012502:Sapogenins / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D012502:Sapogenins; C062916:protopanaxadiol