Journal
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL FOOD
Volume 9, Issue 2, Pages 161-168Publisher
MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC
DOI: 10.1089/jmf.2006.9.161
Keywords
apoptosis; Bcl-2 family; caspase; HepG2; beta-lapachone
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The DNA topoisomerase inhibitor beta-lapachone is a quinone obtained from the bark of the lapacho tree (Tabebuia avellanedae) in South America. It has been reported to possess a wide range of pharmacological properties, and is a promising cancer chemopreventive agent. In this study, the effects of beta-lapachone on the growth of the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 were investigated. The results showed that beta-lapachone inhibits the viability of HepG2 by inducing apoptosis, as evidenced by the formation of apoptotic bodies and DNA fragmentation. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting results indicated that treatments of cells with beta-lapachone resulted in down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and Bcl-X-L and up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax expression. beta-Lapachone-induced apoptosis was associated with a proteolytic activation of caspase-3 and -9 and degradation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase protein. However, beta-lapachone treatment did not affect the inhibitor of apoptosis proteins family and the Fas/FasL system. Taken together, our study indicated that beta-lapachone may have potential as a chemopreventive agent for liver cancer.
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