title: Dill (Anethum graveolens L.) seed essential oil induces Candida albicans apoptosis in a metacaspase-dependent manner.
abstract: Dill (Anethum graveolens L.) has been used in traditional Uighur medicine for its various pharmacological activities. Previous studies have suggested that dill seed essential oil (DSEO) has anti-Candida potential and the mechanism of its action also has been studied. Our study examined whether DSEO induces apoptosis in the human pathogen Candida albicans ATCC 64550. Our results indicate that C. albicans ATCC 64550 cells treated with DSEO show some typical apoptosis characters, such as decrease in adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity, chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation, and phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure. The DSEO promoted cytochrome c (cyt c) release and metacaspase activation, which resulted in C. albicans ATCC 64550 apoptosis. L-cysteine prevented the DSEO-induced nuclear fragmentation, PS externalization, and metacaspase activation, thus indicating that the reactive oxygen species (ROS) is an important mediator of DSEO-induced apoptosis. To our knowledge, this study is the first to report the induction of apoptosis of this pathogen with concomitant metacaspase activation by DSEO.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery (Ministry of Education), Institute of TCM and Natural Products, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuxin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery (Ministry of Education), Institute of TCM and Natural Products, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, PR China; Key Laboratory of Protection and Utilization of Biological Resources in Tarim Basin, Tarim University, Alar 843300, Xinjiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery (Ministry of Education), Institute of TCM and Natural Products, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, PR China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery (Ministry of Education), Institute of TCM and Natural Products, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaoquan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ban
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery (Ministry of Education), Institute of TCM and Natural Products, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, PR China.
authors.forename: Bingxin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery (Ministry of Education), Institute of TCM and Natural Products, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, PR China. Electronic address: wyw@whu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Youwei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000032:analysis; D028524:Anethum graveolens / Q000737:chemistry*; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D017209:Apoptosis; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects*; D020169:Caspases / Q000032:analysis; D045304:Cytochromes c / Q000032:analysis; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D010718:Phosphatidylserines / Q000032:analysis; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010718:Phosphatidylserines; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D045304:Cytochromes c; D020169:Caspases; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases
keywords: ATPase activity; Cyt C release; Staining; Ultrastructure; l-cysteine