No abstract

Harmine, a β-carboline alkaloid isolated from the seeds of Peganum harmala, possesses both antitumor and anti‑nociceptive effects and inhibits human DNA topoisomerase. However, no detailed data are available concerning the mechanisms of harmine in human colorectal carcinoma SW620 cells. In the present study, we demonstrated that harmine inhibited the proliferation of SW620 cells in a dose-dependent manner using MTT and clone formation assays, and the IC50 value of harmine on the growth inhibition of SW620 cells for 48 h was 5.13 µg/ml. PI staining showed that harmine altered the cell cycle distribution by decreasing the proportion of cells in the G0-G1 phase and increasing the proportion in the S and G2-M phase. The expression level of cyclin D1 was decreased, while the expression of cyclin A, E2 and B1, CDK1/cdc2, Myt-1 and p-cdc2 (Tyr15) were increased, which was in accordance with the S and G2/M phase arrest. Hoechst 33258 staining revealed nuclear fragmentation, chromosomal condensation and cell shrinkage in the SW620 cells treated with harmine. Flow cytometry revealed that the percentage of apoptotic sub-G1 cells increased from 7.19 to 26.58%, while in the control group, sub-G1 cells only increased from 1.53 to 1.60%. Furthermore, early and late apoptotic cells were increased from 11.96 to 26.38% when incubated with the indicated concentration of harmine for 48 h, while in the control group, <8% of cells underwent apoptosis. JC-1 staining revealed that harmine decreased mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨm). The apoptosis of SW620 cells was also detected by western blot analysis, showing caspase-3 and -9, and PARP activation; the downregulation of Bcl-2, Mcl-1, Bcl-xL; and the upregulation of Bax. The expression of p-ERK, p-Akt (Ser473) and p-Akt (Thr308) was inhibited, and phosphorylation of downstream targets of Akt, such as p-FoxO3a and p-GSK‑3β were also attenuated. In conclusion, harmine induces cell cycle arrest and mitochondrial pathway-mediated cellular apoptosis in SW620 cells via inhibition of the Akt and ERK signaling pathways.

This study aimed to investigate the cell cycle arrest and autophagy induced by iron overload in MC3T3-E1 cells. MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured in different concentrations of ferric ammonium citrate (FAC), and Perls' Prussian blue reaction was used to detect the iron levels of the cells. CCK-8 assays were used to detect the growth of MC3T3-E1. The level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within cells was investigated with DCFH-DA. PI staining was used to analyze the cell cycle distribution of MC3T3-E1 cells. Finally, the expression levels of cell cycle related proteins, autophagy related proteins, AKT, p38 MAPK, Stat3, and their downstream proteins were detected with Western blot assays. The results showed that the iron levels of MC3T3-E1 cells increased with increasing concentrations of FAC. High levels of ferric ion inhibited proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells and increased their ROS levels. Additionally, iron overload induced G1arrest in MC3T3-E1 cells and down-regulated the expression of Cyclin D , Cyclin D , CDK2, CDK4 and CDK6, but up-regulated p27 Kip1. In addition, the expression levels of Beclin-1 and LC3 II increased, but that of p62 decreased. Further experiments showed that the phosphorylation of AKT and its downstream proteins p-GSK-3β(Ser9) and p-mTOR (Ser2448) were decreased. The levels of p-p38 and p53 were up-regulated while those of cdc25A and p-ERK 1/2 were down-regulated. Phosphorylation of Stat3 and its downstream proteins was all decreased. These results show that iron overload generates ROS, blocks the PI3K/AKT and Jak/Stat3 signal pathways, and activates p38 MAPK, subsequently inducing G1 arrest and autophagy in MC3T3-E1 cells.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of silibinin on SW1990 pancreatic cancer cells. An MTT assay following silibinin treatment demonstrated an inhibitory effect on AsPC-1 and SW1990 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Propidium iodide staining analysis identified the cell cycle arrest of G1 phase and western blotting analysis demonstrated that the expression levels of cyclin D1, cyclin E2, cyclin A and cyclin B1 were decreased. The expression of G1-associated cell cycle-dependent kinases, cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)4 and CDK6, were also decreased, whereas the expression of p15 (p15INK4B) was increased. In addition, after SW1990 cells were incubated with various concentrations of silibinin, early and late apoptotic cells were detected using flow cytometry. Silibinin increased the activities of caspase-9 and caspase-3, and subsequent cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) was also observed. The expression levels of B-cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2, Bcl-2-like 1 and myeloid cell leukemia 1 were decreased, whereas the expression of Bcl-like protein 4 did not alter and the expression levels of Bcl-2-like 1 small and Bcl-2-like protein 11 were increased. The expression levels of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and phospho-JNK were also increased. In conclusion, silibinin inhibited cell proliferation, induced cell cycle G1 arrest via upregulating p15INK4B and induced mitochondrial apoptosis via upregulating JNK/stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) signaling pathway in human pancreatic cancer SW1990 cells.

Myocardial dysfunction is a common complication in sepsis and significantly contributes to the mortality of patients with septic shock. Our previous study demonstrated that pretreatment with berberine (Ber) protected against the lethality induced by LPS, which was enhanced by yohimbine, an [alpha]2-adrenergic receptor antagonist, and Ber combined with yohimbine also improved survival in mice subjected to cecal ligation and puncture. However, no studies have examined whether Ber and yohimbine reduce LPS-induced myocardial dysfunction. Here, we report that pretreatment with Ber, Ber combined with yohimbine, or yohimbine significantly reduced LPS-induced cardiac dysfunction in mice. LPS-provoked cardiac apoptosis, I-[kappa]B[alpha] phosphorylation, IL-1[beta], TNF-[alpha], and NO production were attenuated by pretreatment with Ber and/or yohimbine, whereas cardiac Toll-like receptor 4 mRNA expression, malondialdehyde content, and superoxide dismutase activity were not affected. These data demonstrate for the first time that pretreatment with Ber and/or yohimbine prevents LPS-induced myocardial dysfunction in mice through inhibiting myocardial apoptosis, cardiac I-[kappa]B[alpha] phosphorylation, and TNF-[alpha], IL-1[beta], and NO production, suggesting that activation of [alpha]2-adrenergic receptor in vivo may be responsible at least in part for LPS-induced cardiac dysfunction, and Ber in combination with yohimbine may be a potential agent for preventing cardiac dysfunction during sepsis.