Fyn arrests swainsonine-induced apoptosis in 293T cells via Akt and its phosphorylation.

Swainsonine (SW), an extract from Astragalus membranaceus, represents a new class of compounds that inhibit growth and induce apoptosis in a cancer model. In this study, we demonstrated the effect of Fyn on SW-induced apoptosis in 293T cells. Western blotting was used to measure the expression of the apoptosis-related factors caspase-3, Bcl-2, Bax, and the key factor Akt (also known as protein kinase B). Apoptosis increased dramatically after treatment with SW. Unlike the control group, after transfection with Fyn, the expression of Bcl-2, in contrast to Bax, was markedly upregulated. The results also showed that the protein expression levels of Akt and phosphorylated Akt were markedly increased. Our results establish that Fyn can arrest SW-induced apoptosis via the activity of Akt and its effective phosphorylation in 293T cells.