Cell cycle and apoptosis alteration of human hepatocarcinoma cells by subclinical-dose 12C6+-beam irradiation

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of subclinical-dose C-beam irradiation on cell cycle and cell apoptosis in hepatocarcinoma cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The HepG2 cells were exposed to 0-2.0 Gy of either the C beam or a gamma-ray. Cell survival was detected by clonogenic assay. Cell cycle was determined by flow-cytometry analysis. The apoptosis was monitored by fluorescence microscope with DAPI staining. p53 and p21 expression were detected by Western blot. RESULTS: The G0/G1 cells in the irradiated groups were significantly more than those in the control (P<0.05). The C-ion irradiation had a greater effect on the cell cycle of HepG2 cells (including promoting G1-phase and G2-phase arrest) than gamma-ray irradiation. The apoptotic cells induced by C beam were significantly more numerous than those induced by gamma-ray (P<0.05). The carbon ions had a stronger effect on p53 and p21 expression than the gamma-ray irradiation. The survival fractions for cells irradiated by C beam were significantly smaller than those irradiated by gamma-ray (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The subclinical-dose C-beam irradiation significantly suppresses HepG2 cells through cell-cycle arrests and cell apoptosis in contrast to same-dose gamma-ray irradiation.     

TIP30 regulates apoptosis-related genes in its apoptotic signal transduction pathway

AIM: To investigate the role of TIP30 in apoptotic signal pathway in hepatoblastoma cells and to provide a basis for TIP30 as a gene therapy candidate in the regression of hepatoblastoma cells. METHODS: Apoptosis of human hepatoblastoma cell lines HepG2 (p53 wild), Hep3B (p53 null) and PLC/RPF/5 (p53 mutant) infected with Ad-TIP30 (bearing a wild type human Tip30 gene) were analyzed and p53, Bax and Bcl-xl expression levels were compared among these cells. MTT assay, DNA fragmentation, in situ 3' end labeling of DNA, annexin-V FITC staining were used to detect cell death and apoptosis in cells at various time intervals subsequent to infection, and to determine whether TIP30 had an effect on the expression levels of some apoptosis-related gene products such as Bax, p53 and Bcl-xl. A similar time course experiment was performed by Western blotting. RESULTS: In MTT assay, the viability of HepG2 cells decreased significantly from 99.7% to 10% and displayed more massive cell death within 5-8 d than Hep3B and PLC/ RPF/5 cells, with their viability decreased from 97.8% to 44.3% and 98.1% to 50.4%, respectively. In annexin-V FITC assay, the percentage of apoptosis cells in HepG2 cells was two to three-fold higher than that in control cells (infected with Ad-GFP), two-fold higher than that in Hep3B cells and 1.4-fold higher than that in PLC/RPF/5 cells 36 h after infection, respectively. Moreover, in HepG2 cells, the p53 began to increase 6-8 h after infection, reaching a maximum level between 8 and 12 h after infection and then dropped. Bax showed a similar increase in the cells as p53 reached the maximum at 8-12 h and subsequently decreased. Interestingly, Bcl-xl protein levels were down regulated during 24 to 36 h after Ad-TIP30 infection. In contrast, ectopic expression of TIP30 in Hep3B and PLC/ RPF/5 cells had no effect on the regulation of Bax expression, but had an effect on Bcl-xl levels. In comparison with HepG2 cells, these data suggested that up-regulation of p53 levels by TIP30 might be a pre-requisite for Bax and Bax/Bcl-xl ratio increase. We hypothesied that TIP30 might regulate Bax gene partly through p53, which sensitizes cells to apoptosis by involving a p53 apoptosis signal transduction pathway. CONCLUSION: TIP30 plays an important role in predisposing hepatoblastoma cells to apoptosis through regulating expression levels of these genes. Ad-TIP30 carrying exogenous TIP30-anti-tumor genes may be regarded as a potential candidate for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.     

Effects of Terminalia arjuna bark extract on apoptosis of human hepatoma cell line HepG2

AIM:To investigate the effects of Terminalia arjuna(T.arjuna)extract on human hepatoma cell line(HepG2)and its possible role in induction of apoptosis.METHODS:Human hepatoma cells were treated withdifferent concentrations of ethanolic extract of T.arjunaand its cytotoxicity effect was measured by trypan blueexclusion method and lactate dehydrogenase leakageassay.Apoptosis was analyzed by light and fluorescencemicroscopic methods,and DNA fragmentation.Themechanism of apoptosis was studied with expressionof p53 and caspase-3 proteins.Glutathione(GSH)content was also measured in HepG2 cells after T.arjunatreatment.RESULTS:T.arjuna inhibited the proliferation of HepG2cells in a concentration-dependent manner.Apoptoticmorphology was observed in HepG2 cells treated with T.arjuna at the concentrations of 60 and 100 mg/L.DNAfragmentation,accumulation of p53 and cleavage ofprocaspase-3 protein were observed in HepG2 cells afterthe treatment with T.arjuna.The depletion of GSH wasobserved in HepG2 cells treated with T.arjuna.CONCLUSION:T.arjuna induced cytotoxicity in HepG2cells in vitro.Apoptosis of HepG2 cells may be due tothe DNA damage and expression of apoptotic proteins.Depletion of GSH may be involved in the induction ofapoptosis of HepG2 cells.     

中药复方搏癌丸对人肝癌细胞周期及bax、bcl-2、p53基因表达调控的影响

目的:研究中药复方搏癌丸对人肝癌细胞HepG2周期及相关调控基因表达的影响.方法:采用药物血清和细胞药理学方法:①用流式细胞仪观察搏癌丸对人肝癌HepG2细胞凋亡及周期的影响.②用免疫组织化学染色(SABC)法检测搏癌丸3个有效药物血清浓度对bax、bcl-2、p53基因表达的调控.结果:①10%搏癌丸药物血清作用HepG2细胞48小时后,FCA检测的细胞凋亡率为25.34%,均显著高于相应无药血清对照组的3.54%,P＜0.05.②能上调HeG2细胞凋亡调控基因bax、p53的表达,与无药血清对照组比较,差异有显著性意义,P＜0.05,且呈剂量依赖关系.结论:搏癌丸诱导HepG2细胞凋亡的作用机制之一可能是上调促凋亡基因bax和p53的表达.     

Blocking NF-κB nuclear translocation leads to p53-related autophagy activation and cell apoptosis

AIM: To investigate the anti-tumor effects of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) inhibitor SN50 and related mechanisms of SGC7901 human gastric carcinoma cells.METHODS: MTT assay was used to determine the cytotoxic effects of SN50 in gastric cancer cell line SGC7901. Hoechst 33258 staining was used to detect apoptosis morphological changes after SN50 treatment. Activation of autophagy was monitored with monodansylcadaverine (MDC) staining after SN50 treatment.Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the expression of light chain 3 (LC3). Mitochondrial membrane potential was measured using the fluorescent probe JC-1. Western blotting analysis were used to determine the expression of proteins involved in apoptosis and autophagy including p53, p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA), damage-regulated autophagy modulator (DRAM), LC3 and Beclin 1. We detected the effects of p53-mediated autophagy activation on the apoptosis of SGC7901 cells with the p53 inhibitor pifithrin-α.RESULTS: The viability of SGC7901 cells was inhibited after SN50 treatment. Inductions in the expression of apoptotic protein p53 and PUMA as well as autophagic protein DRAM, LC3 and Beclin 1 were detected with Western blotting analysis. SN50-treated cells exhibited punctuate microtubule-associated protein 1 LC3 in immunoreactivity and MDC-labeled vesicles increased after treatment of SN50 by MDC staining. Collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential Δψ were detected for 6 to 24 h after SN50 treatment. SN50-induced increases in PUMA, DRAM, LC3 and Beclin 1 and cell death were blocked by the p53 specific inhibitor pifithrin-α.CONCLUSION: The anti-tumor activity of NF-κB inhibitors is associated with p53-mediated activation of autophagy.     

Induction of apoptosis on human hepatocarcinoma cell lines by an alkyl resorcinol isolated from Lithraea molleoides

INTRODUCTION Hepatocellular carcinoma is the 5th most common cancer in the world and the 4th most common cause of cancer-associated mortality[1]. Surgical resection and local treatment are frequently limited, as a result of metastasis, cirrhosis, and othe…     

腺病毒介导MDA-7/IL-24选择性促进肝癌细胞的凋亡和增殖阻滞

目的 观察MDA-7／IL-24基因对不同p53状态人肝癌细胞HepG2、MHCC97L以及Hep3B和正常的肝细胞L02的选择性杀伤作用，为肝癌的基因治疗提供理论基础。方法 将携带人MDA-7／IL-24基因的腺病毒Ad．mda-7感染人正常肝细胞L02和不同p53状态的肝癌细胞HepG2，MHCC97L、Hep3B。通过逆转录聚合酶链反应方法观察MDA7／IL24基因的表达，酶联免疫吸附法检测细胞培养上清液中MDA-7／IL-24蛋白的浓度，通过四甲基偶氮唑盐染色法及Hoechst染色观察MDA-7／IL-24对肝癌细胞的生长抑制和杀伤作用，Annexin-V和碘化丙啶双染后流式细胞仪检测细胞的凋亡，应用流式细胞仪检测细胞周期。结果 复制缺陷型腺病毒能介导外源基因MDA-7／IL-24在肝癌细胞株HepG2，MHCC97L和Hep3B以及正常细胞L02中高效表达。细胞培养上清液中有MDA-7／IL-24蛋白表达。MDA-7／IL-24能明显抑制各种肝癌细胞的生长，Hoechst染色提示MDA-7／IL-24促进肝癌细胞的凋亡，流式细胞仪提示MDA-7能选择性杀伤肝癌细胞而对正常的肝细胞无影响，细胞周期分析提示MDA-7／IL-24阻滞肝癌细胞在G2／M期，同时对正常的肝细胞没有促凋亡作用和增殖阻滞作用。结论 复制缺陷型重组腺病毒载体Ad．mda-7能介导MDA-7／IL-24基因在人肝癌细胞中高效表达，选择性地杀伤肝癌细胞HepG2、MHCC97L和Hep3B，促进细胞增殖阻滞及诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡而与肿瘤细胞的P53基因的状态无关，同时对正常的肝细胞L02无任何毒性作用。     

cAMP-induced apoptosis in granulosa cells is associated with up-regulation of P53 and bax and down-regulation of clusterin.

Evidence indicates that cAMP induces apoptosis in granulosa cells of rat and human ovary. The mechanism by which cAMP induces apoptosis is not known. This study was carried out to evaluate changes in expression of cell death promoters, P53 and bax, and cell death repressor, bcl-2, in cAMP-treated granulosa cells. Treatment of granulosa cells with forskolin (FSK), or 8-bromo-cAMP induced apoptosis as evidenced by internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and chromatin condensation as revealed by gel electrophoresis and fluorescent DAPI staining, respectively. The apoptotic effect of cAMP was accompanied by an increase in the expression of P53 and bax proteins as evaluated by Western blot and immunocytochemistry. No change in bcl-2 protein level was observed in cAMP-treated granulosa cells as compared to control. These data suggest that cAMP may activate apoptosis in granulosa cells by shifting the ratio of the death promoter to death repressor genes via alteration of P53 and bax expression. cAMP was also shown to inhibit gene expression of clusterin, an apoptosis-associated protein, suggesting a role for this protein in cAMP-induced apoptosis in granulosa cells. The data of the present study provide a basis for future studies to elucidate the molecular mechanism of follicular atresia and regulation of apoptotic cell death in ovarian follicles.     

The involvement of apoptotic regulators during in vitro decidualization

OBJECTIVES: The uterus responds to an implanting blastocyst by undergoing extensive tIssue modification leading to decidualization. This modification includes differentiation and apoptosis of epithelial as well as stromal cell compartments. It is generally accepted that the decidual cell regression pattern is similar to the pattern of initial differentiation, suggesting that decidual cell death is the end point of timed differentiation. However, the molecular mechanisms controlling these events are not understood clearly. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the involvement of apoptotic factors using an in vitro cell culture system. DESIGN: In order to assess the role of apoptotic factors during decidualization, we used a decidual cell line (GG-AD) that had been transformed with a temperature-sensitive SV-40 mutant. At the non-permissive temperature (39 degrees C), these cells showed the characteristics of differentiated decidual cells. They dedifferentiated into stromal cells when the temperature was shifted back to 33 degrees C. METHODS: We performed Northern blot analysis for bax, bcl-x(L) and bcl-2 at both temperatures. The onset of apoptosis was examined by Annexin V staining. The expression of p53 protein was also determined by Western blot. RESULTS: We found an increase in the expression of bax when GG-AD cells were grown at 39 degrees C. We also showed apoptosis with Annexin V staining at 39 degrees C. The p53 protein expression was also similar to that of the animal models, suggesting that the programmed cell death of the decidual cells occurred in a p53-independent manner. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that a parallelism exists between the increased expression of pro-apoptotic genes and decidual cell death, similar to animal models. Therefore, an in vitro model of GG-AD cells can be used to assess directly the relationship between apoptotic regulators and decidualization and could be used to study the mechanism of decidual cell regression.     

Antineoplastic effects of octreotide on human gallbladder cancer cells in vitro

AIM: To investigate whether octreotide can inhibit the growth of human gallbladder cancer cells in vitro and to elucidate the antineoplastic mechanism of octreotide in gallbladder cancer. METHODS: A human gallbladder cancer cell line, GBC-SD, was cultured in vitro. The antiproliferative effects of octreotide were examined by means of an MTT assay and a colony forming ability assay. Morphological variation was investigated under scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Cell cycle analysis and apoptosis rate was evaluated by flow cytometry (FCM) after staining by propidium iodide. DNA fragmentation was assayed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to evaluate the expressions of mutant-type p53 and bcl-2. RESULTS: The growth curve and colony forming ability assay showed significant inhibition of octreotide to the proliferation of GBC-SD cells in culture in a time- and dose-dependent manner. After exposure to octreotide, GBC-SD cells showed typically apoptotic characteristics, including morphological changes of chromatin condensation, vacuolar degeneration, nucleus fragmentation and apoptotic body formation. In FCM profile apoptotic cells showed increased sub-G(1) peaks in the octreotide group, significantly higher than the control group (P=0.013). There was also an augmentation in the cell proportion of G(0)/G(1) phase (P=0.015), while the proportion of S phase and G(2)/M phase remained unchanged (P=0.057 and P=0.280, respectively). DNA agarose gel electrophoresis displayed a ladder after exposure to 1 000 nmol/L octreotide. After being treated with octreotide, the expressions of both mutant-type p53 and bcl-2 decreased considering the percentage of positive cells (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Octreotide has a negative action to the proliferation of GBC-SD cells, and the mechanism may be related to cytostatic and cytotoxic effects. The reduction of mutant-type p53 and bcl-2 expressions may be associated with the apoptosis induced by octreotide.     

NT4（Si）-p53（N15）-antennapedia induces cell death in a human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line

AIM: To construct the recombinant lentivirus expression plasmid, pLenti6/V5-NT4 p53(N15)-antennapedia (Ant), and study its effect on HepG2 cells. METHODS: Plasmid pLenti6/V5-NT4 p53(N15)-Ant was constructed incorporating the following functional regions, including signal peptide sequence and proregion of neurotrophin 4, N-terminal residues 12-26 of p53 and 17 amino acid drosophila carrier protein, Ant. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells were used for transfection. 3-[4,5-dimethyl-thiazol-2yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and flow cytometric analysis (FCM) were employed to investigate the effects of LV-NT4(Si)- p53(N15)-Ant in vitro on HepG2 cells. In vivo experiment was also performed to investigate the inhibitory effect o fLV-NT4(Si)- p53(N15)-Ant on tumor growth in nude mice. RESULTS: LV-NT4(Si)- p53(N15)-Ant significantly suppressed the growth of HepG2 cells. MTT assay showed that the growth of HepG2 cells was mucj more significantly inhibited by LV-NT4(Si)- p53(N15)-Ant than by LV-EGFP. The inhibition rate for HepG2 cell growth in the two groups was 46.9% and 94.5%, respectively, 48 h after infection with LV-NT4(Si)-p53(N15)-Ant, and was 33.9% and 95.8%, respectively, 72 h after infection with LV-NT4(Si)- p53(N15)-Ant ( P < 0.01). Light microscopy and TEM showed morphological changes in HepG2 cells infected with LV-NT4(Si)-p53(N15)-Ant, but no significant changes in HepG2 cells infected with LV-EGFP. Changes were observed in ultra-structue of HepG2 cells infected with LV-NT4(Si)-p53(N15)-Ant, with degraded membranes, resulting in necrosis. LDH release from HepG2 cells was analyzed at 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after infection with LV-NT4(Si)-p 53(N15)-Ant and LV-EGFP, which showed that LDH release was significantly higher in LV-NT4(Si)-p53(N15)-Ant treatment group (682 IU/L) than in control group (45 IU/L, P < 0.01). The longer the time was after infection, the bigger the difference was in LDH release. FCM analysis showed that LV-NT4(Si)- p 53(N15)-Ant could induce two different kinds of cell death: necrosis and apoptosis, with apoptosis being the minor type and necrosis being the main type, suggesting that LV-NT4(Si)-p 53(N15)-Ant exerts its anticancer effect on HepG2 cells by inducing necrosis. The in vivo study showed that LV-NT4(Si)- p53(N15)-Ant significantly inhibited tumor growth with an inhibition rate of 66.14% in terms of tumor size and weight. CONCLUSION: LV-NT4(Si)- p53(N15)-Ant is a novel recombinant lentivirus expression plasmid and can be used in gene therapy for cancer.     

三氧化二砷诱导小细胞肺癌细胞凋亡及p53、bcl-2基因表达的研究

目的：研究三氧化二砷（As2O3）诱导小细胞肺癌细胞凋亡及其机制。方法：采用末端脱氧核苷酰转移（TUNEL）法检测细胞凋亡，免疫组织化学（SABC）法分析As2O3对小细胞肺癌细胞（NeI-H细胞）p53、bcl-2基因蛋白表达的影响。结果：As2O30.5μmol/L、1.0μmol/L、2.0μmol/L作用72h，NeI-H细胞均可呈现凋亡所特有的亚G1峰，凋亡比率随药物作用浓度增加和作用时间延长而增高。实验组p53基因蛋白表达较对照组明显增多，药物浓度越高表达越多（P=0.001）；bcl-2基因蛋白表达较对照组明显减少，药物作用浓度越高表达越少（P=0.001）。结论：As2O3抗肿瘤作用主要是通过诱导细胞凋亡实现的，其机制与上调p53基因表达及下调bcl-2基因表达有密切关系。     

香芹酚对肝细胞癌HepG2细胞凋亡的诱导作用及其分子机制

目的:探讨香芹酚(carvacrol,CV)对人肝癌细胞(HepG2)的抗癌作用及其分子机制.方法:予以不同浓度的香芹酚(0.00、0.05、0.10、0.20、0.40 mmol/L)处理肝癌细胞HepG2后,采用四甲基偶氮唑蓝(MTT)比色法检测细胞活力;Hoechst33258染色法及流式细胞仪(FCM)技术检测...     

溶癌水泡性口炎病毒体外诱导人肝癌细胞HepG2凋亡的作用机制

目的:研究一株实验室减毒水泡性口炎病毒(VSV)对HepG2细胞的凋亡诱导作用,并探讨其可能的作用机制.方法:首先将水泡性口炎病毒以1.0感染复数(MOI)的接种密度感染HepG2细胞,同时设接种相同体积培养液的Mock感染组,在不同时间点收集细胞,MTT法检测细胞增殖活性;AO/EB结合Hoechst/PI染色观察细...     

Expression of hepatitis C virus envelope protein 2 induces apoptosis in cultured mammalian cells

AIM: To explore the role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope protein 2 (E2) in the induction of apoptosis. METHODS: A carboxyterminal truncated E2 (E2-661) was transiently expressed in several cultured mammalian cell lines or stably expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line. Cell proliferation was assessed by 3H thymidine uptake. Apoptosis was examined by Hoechst 33258 staining, flow cytometry and DNA fragmentation analysis. RESULTS: Reduced proliferation was readily observed in the E2-661 expressing cells. These cells manifested the typical features of apoptosis, including cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation and hypodiploid genomic DNA content. Similar apoptotic cell death was observed in an E2-661 stably expressing cell line. CONCLUSION: HCV E2 can induce apoptosis in cultured mammalian cells.     

乙型肝炎病毒X基因下调miR-192对人肝癌细胞株HepG2凋亡的影响

目的 探讨乙型肝炎病毒X基因(HBx)通过调节人肝癌细胞株HepG2中miR-192的表达而抑制其凋亡的机制.方法 设立3个细胞组:稳定转染HBx基因的HepG2细胞(HepG2/HBx),稳定转染空载体pcDNA3.1的HepG2细胞(HepG2/pcDNA3.1)以及未作转染的HepG2细胞.用流式细胞术分析3个细胞组的凋亡率差异,用Taqman探针荧光定量PCR检测3组细胞中miR-192的表达水平.转染miR-192后,用流式细胞术检测HepG2细胞凋亡率的变化,同时用SYBR Green荧光定量PCR和Western blot检测细胞中p53、PUMA表达的变化.计量资料均数的比较用单因素方差分析.结果 HepG2/HBx细胞的凋亡率为2.37％±0.35％,较HepG2/pcDNA3.1、HepG2细胞(11.46％±0.69％、12.50％±0.66％)明显降低(F=171.722,P＜0.01).miR-192表达在HepG2/HBx细胞中为49.1％±5.9％,较HepG2/pcDNA3.1、HepG2细胞(98.0％±8.9％,100％)也明显下调(F=14.319,P＜ 0.05).转染miR-192后HepG2细胞的凋亡率(15.74％±1.17％)较转染相应阴性对照的HepG2细胞的凋亡率(10.74％±1.15％)显著升高(F=18.415,P＜0.05),同时,p53、PUMA基因在mRNA (953:1.68±0.12比0.90±0.09,F=43.115,P＜0.05 ; PUMA:1.66±0.10比0.98±0.06,F=22.541,P＜0.05)和蛋白质水平(p53:3.07比1,PUMA:2.13比1)的表达均显著上升.结论 miR-192促进HepG2细胞凋亡,HBx通过下调miR-192抑制HepG2细胞凋亡.     

全反式维甲酸诱导胰腺癌细胞凋亡机制研究

目的 维甲酸类药物调节肿瘤细胞生长、分化和凋亡是其防治肿瘤的基础。本研究观察全反式维甲酸(ATRA)诱导体外胰腺癌细胞凋亡的可能机制。方法 胰腺癌细胞Patu8988与ATRA共同孵育。通过DNA断裂分析、TUNEL标记证实凋亡存在，并用流式细胞仪检测凋亡细胞比例。用RT-PCR和Western blot方法检测凋亡诱导过程中p53、bcl-2和bax基因的水平及其表达变化。结果 ATRA处理组细胞凋亡比例明显增加。TUNEL标记和DNA断裂分析发现典型凋亡特征。ATRA处理组bax和phospho-p53(Ser 46)表达上调，但bcl-2表达下调。结论 ATRA能诱导胰腺癌细胞凋亡，其分子机制可能与bcl-2/bax和p53的表达相关。