Ting Li1, Wen-Shan Xu, Guo-Sheng Wu, Xiu-Ping Chen, Yi-Tao Wang, Jin-Jian Lu. 1. State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China E-mail : ytwang@umac.mo; jinjian.lu@163.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Platycodin D (PD), a triterpenoid saponin isolated from the Chinese medicinal herb Platycodonis radix, possesses anti-cancer effects in several cancer cell lines. The aim of this study was to evaluate its anti- cancer activities in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MTT and colony formation assays were performed to evaluate cell proliferation, along with flow cytometry and Western blotting for apoptosis. Cell adhesion was tested by observing cellular morphology under a microscope, while the transwell assay was employed to investigate the cell migration and invasion. RESULTS: PD concentration-dependently inhibited cell proliferation in both HepG2 and Hep3B cells, and significantly suppressed colony formation and induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells. The protein levels of cleaved poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) and Bax were up-regulated while that of survivin was down-regulated after treatment with PD. Moreover, PD not only obviously suppressed the adhesion of HepG2 cells to Matrigel, but also remarkably depressed their migration and invasion induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA). CONCLUSIONS: PD presents anti-cancer potential in hepatocellular carcinoma cells via inducing apoptosis, and inhibiting cell adhesion, migration and invasion, indicating promising features as a lead compound for anti-cancer agent development.
BACKGROUND:Platycodin D (PD), a triterpenoidsaponin isolated from the Chinese medicinal herb Platycodonis radix, possesses anti-cancer effects in several cancer cell lines. The aim of this study was to evaluate its anti- cancer activities in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS:MTT and colony formation assays were performed to evaluate cell proliferation, along with flow cytometry and Western blotting for apoptosis. Cell adhesion was tested by observing cellular morphology under a microscope, while the transwell assay was employed to investigate the cell migration and invasion. RESULTS:PD concentration-dependently inhibited cell proliferation in both HepG2 and Hep3B cells, and significantly suppressed colony formation and induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells. The protein levels of cleaved poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) and Bax were up-regulated while that of survivin was down-regulated after treatment with PD. Moreover, PD not only obviously suppressed the adhesion of HepG2 cells to Matrigel, but also remarkably depressed their migration and invasion induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA). CONCLUSIONS:PD presents anti-cancer potential in hepatocellular carcinoma cells via inducing apoptosis, and inhibiting cell adhesion, migration and invasion, indicating promising features as a lead compound for anti-cancer agent development.