title: Total saponins of Tupistra chinensis induces apoptosis in A549 cells.
abstract: Tupistra chinensis Baker has been used as a folk remedy in China, and it has been shown to exhibit anti-inflammation, expectorant and anti-bacterial effects. In this study, we report the cytotoxic activity of the total saponins of Tupistra chinensis Baker (TST) against several carcinoma cell lines, including A549, MCF-7 and HeLa cells with the IC50 values of 4.11 μg/ml, 6.47 μg/ml and 7.78 μg/ml respectively. Treatment of A549 cells with TST resulted in growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis in a time-dependent manners determined by cell viability, chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation and flow cytometry analysis. The activities of caspase-3, 9 were significantly increased following TST treatment. Real-time PCR analysis showed that the mRNA expression levels of pro-apoptosis related genes including Bax, P21, P27 and P53 were markedly increased in the cells treated with TST but anti-apoptosis related gene Bcl-2 was slightly decreased. TST also leads to a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in a time-dependent manner the release of cytochrome C from mitochondria into the cytosol. Thus, these results suggest that TST may play an important role in tumor growth suppression by inducing apoptosis in human A549 cells via mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathways and the TST would be promising to treat human lung adenocarcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Products Research and Development, Medical College, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, PR China.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D053453:Caspase 9 / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000737:chemistry*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D019668:Liliaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D012503:Saponins / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D012503:Saponins; D053453:Caspase 9