Journal
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 381, Issue 4, Pages 700-705Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2009.02.124
Keywords
Steroidal saponins; Asparanin A; Cell cycle; Apoptosis; p53
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [30701084, 30701032, 30472044, 90713038]
- International Corporation Program of China [2008DFA32120]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We recently established that asparanin A, a steroidal saponin extracted from Asparagus officinalis L., is an active cytotoxic component. The molecular mechanisms by which asparanin A exerts its cytotoxic activity are currently unknown. In this study, we show that asparanin A induces G(2)/M phase arrest and apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. Following treatment of HepG2 cells with asparanin A, cell cycle-related proteins such as cyclin A, CdkI and Cdk4 were down-regulated, while p21(WAF1/Cip1) and p-Cdk1 (Thr14/Tyr15) were up-regulated. Additionally, we observed poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage and activation of caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9. The expression ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 was increased in the treated cells, where Bax was also up-regulated. We also found that the expression of p53, a modulator of p21(WAF1/Cip1) and Bax, was not affected in asparanin A-treated cells. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that asparanin A induces cell cycle arrest and triggers apoptosis via a p53-independent manner in HepG2 cells. These data indicate that asparanin A shows promise as a preventive and/or therapeutic agent against human hepatoma. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available