title: Parthenolide-induced apoptosis, autophagy and suppression of proliferation in HepG2 cells.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the anticancer effects and underlying mechanisms of parthenolide on HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay and cell apoptosis through DAPI, TUNEL staining and Western blotting. Monodansylcadaverin(MDC) and AO staining were used to detect cell autophagy. Cell proliferation was assessed by Ki67 immunofluorescence staining.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parthenolide induced growth inhibition in HepG2 cells. DAPI and TUNEL staining showed that parthenolide could increase the number of apoptotic nuclei, while reducing the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and elevating the expression of related proteins, like p53, Bax, cleaved caspase9 and cleaved caspase3. Parthenolide could induce autophagy in HepG2 cells and inhibited the expression of proliferation-related gene, Ki-67.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parthenolide can exert anti-cancer effects by inducing cell apoptosis, activating autophagy and inhibiting cell proliferation.
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory for Druggable Gene and Protein Screening, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China E-mail : baoyl1967@163.com, liyx486@nenu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Chan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yong-Li
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: Yin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Zhong-Liang
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chun-Lei
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Yan-Xin
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Li-Hua
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yu-Xin
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D001343:Autophagy / Q000187:drug effects*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; C002669:parthenolide