Involvement of the Bcl‐2 Family Members in <i>Pinus massoniana</i> Bark Extract induced Apoptosis in HeLa Cells

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Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p><jats:italic>Pinus massoniana</jats:italic> bark extract (PMBE) contains a variety of flavonoids whose antioxidant properties have been confirmed<jats:italic> in vitro</jats:italic>. This study was undertaken to evaluate the cytotoxic effects and the mechanism of cell death on the PMBE‐treated human cervical cancer cell line, HeLa. PMBE treatment led to cell growth inhibition in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner, and PMBE‐induced apoptosis was confirmed by DAPI staining, TUNEL assays and sub‐G1 phase accumulation. Cell cycle was also arrested in G2/M phase. Immunoblotting analysis showed that cytochrome <jats:italic>c</jats:italic> was released, the protein expression of Bax was increased, the protein expression of Bcl‐2 was down‐regulated and caspase‐9 and ‐3 were activated in PMBE‐treated HeLa cells. Taken together, PMBE inhibited proliferation, induces apoptosis and causes cell cycle arrest in HeLa cells, indicating that PMBE may be a potential therapeutic agent for cancer. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.</jats:p>

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