title: Antiproliferative effect of β-escin - an in vitro study.
abstract: This study examined the antiproliferative effects of β-escin (E) in cancer cells. The study showed that E inhibited cancer cells growth in a dose-dependent manner. The flow cytometric analysis revealed an escin-induced increase in the sub-G1 DNA content, which is considered to be a marker of apoptosis. Apoptosis was also confirmed by annexin V staining and DNA fragmentation assay. These effects were associated with increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), caspase-3 activation and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Moreover, escin decreased mitochondrial protein content and mitochondrial fluorescence intensity as well as caused depletion of glutathione (GSH). However, activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) was not significantly changed in escin-treated cells. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that E has apoptotic effects in human cancer cells through the mechanisms involving mitochondrial perturbation. Although the exact mechanism needs to be investigated further, it can be concluded that E may be a useful candidate agent for cancer treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University, 040 11 Košice, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mojžišová
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University, 040 11 Košice, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kello
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University, 040 11 Košice, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pilátová
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University, 040 11 Košice, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Vladimíra
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tomečková
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University, 040 11 Košice, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Janka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vašková
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University, 040 11 Košice, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Ladislav
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vaško
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University, 040 11 Košice, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bernátová
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University, 040 11 Košice, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Ladislav
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mirossay
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Šafárik University, 040 11 Košice, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Ján
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mojžiš
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D004928:Escin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D005980:Glutathione Reductase / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D004928:Escin; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D005980:Glutathione Reductase; D053148:Caspase 3; D005978:Glutathione