Synergistic effects of apigenin and paclitaxel on apoptosis of cancer cells.
BACKGROUND
It was well known that the clinical use of chemotherapeutic drugs is restricted by severe adverse reactions and drug resistances. Thus it is necessary to figure out a strategy to increase the specific anti-tumor efficiency of chemotherapeutic drugs. Apigenin, a kind of flavonoids, has been reported to possess anticancer activities with very low cytotoxicity to normal tissue.


RESULTS
Our results from cell viability assay, western-blots and TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay demonstrated the synergistic pro-apoptotic effects of a low dose of apigenin and paclitaxel in human cancer cell lines. To analyze the underlying mechanism, we examined reactive oxygen species (ROS) staining after cells were treated with a combination of apigenin and paclitaxel, or each of them alone. Data from flow-cytometry showed that superoxides but not reduction of peroxides accumulated in HeLa cells treated with apigenin or a combination of apigenin and paclitaxel. Apigenin and paclitaxel-induced HeLa cell apoptosis was related to the level of ROS in cells. We further evaluated activity and protein level of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Apigenin significantly inhibited SOD activity but did not alter the SOD protein level suggesting that apigenin promoted ROS accumulation through suppressing enzyme activity of SOD. Addition of Zn(2+), Cu(2+) and Mn(2+) to cell lysates inhibited apigenin's effects on SOD activity. At the same time, data from caspase-2 over-expression and knocked-down experiments demonstrated that caspase-2 participated in apigenin and paclitaxel-induced HeLa cell apoptosis.


CONCLUSIONS
Taken together, our study demonstrated that apigenin can sensitize cancer cells to paclitaxel induced apoptosis through suppressing SOD activity, which then led to accumulation of ROS and cleavage of caspase-2, suggesting that the combined use of apigenin and paclitaxel was an effective way to decrease the dose of paclitaxel taken.
Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medicine Biotechnology, College of Life Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
Yimiao
Y
Xu
Yinqiang
Y
Xin
Ying
Y
Diao
Changyan
C
Lu
Jin
J
Fu
Lan
L
Luo
Zhimin
Z
Yin
D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D047310:Apigenin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D001483:Base Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D017931:DNA Primers; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism
D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D017931:DNA Primers; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D047310:Apigenin; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D017239:Paclitaxel