Total saponin from root of Actinidia valvata Dunn prevents the metastasis of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

OBJECTIVE: To extract the active component from the root of Actinidia valvata Dunn and to investigate the effects on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells in vitro. METHODS: Total saponin was extracted from the root of A. valvata (TSAVD). HCC cells, such as BEL-7402, HepG2, PLC, SMMC-7721, MHCC-97-H, and MHCC-97-L, were treated with TSAVD in 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenytetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. BEL-7402 and MHCC-97-H cells were also treated respectively with TSAVD at different concentrations for 24 h in wound healing and adhesion assays, and the effects of TSAVD on BEL-7402 and MHCC-97-H cells mobility and adhesion abilities were observed. Meanwhile, the effects of TSAVD on invasion and migration of BEL-7402 and MHCC-97-H cells were also investigated by transwell chamber in invasion and migration assays. RESULTS: TSAVD at 1.5 mg/mL inhibited BEL-7402 cell proliferation with inhibition ratios (IRs) of 61.08%, 74.12%, 84.55% at 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively. Meanwhile, TSAVD inhibited MHCC-97-H proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner from 1.5 to 0.5 mg/mL, with the IR of 36% at 1.5 mg/mL at 24 h. For SMMC-7721, PLC, and HepG2, the IR was lower than 30% at 1.5 mg/mL at 24 h. In the wound healing assay, mobility abilities of BEL-7402 and MHCC-97-H cells in TSAVD treated groups were significantly weaker than those of the control group. After pretreatment for 24 h with TSAVD, adhesion abilities were reduced in both MHCC-97-H and BEL-7402 cells, with IRs of 48.50%±4.86% and 49.85%±5.25% at 200 µg/mL. The IRs of MHCC-97-H and BEL-7402 cells in the migration assay were 49.13%±2.91% and 79.37%±0.09% at 200 µg/mL. In the invasion assay, IRs were 69.78%±4.88% and 82.48%±0.25% at 200 µg/mL. CONCLUSIONS: Of all HCC cells, the highest inhibition by TSAVD was seen for BEL-7402 proliferation. TSAVD could restrain adhesion, invasion, mobility, and migration abilities of BEL-7402 and MHCC-97-H cells in vitro.

Corosolic acid induces apoptosis through mitochondrial pathway and caspase activation in human cervix adenocarcinoma HeLa cells.

We investigated the response of human cervix adenocarcinoma HeLa cells to Corosolic acid (CRA) treatment. Our results showed that CRA significantly inhibited cell viability in both a dose- and a time-dependent manner. CRA treatment induced S cell-cycle arrest and caused apoptotic death in HeLa cells. We found that CRA increased in Bax/Bcl-2 ratios by up-regulating Bax expression, disrupted mitochondrial membrane potential and triggered the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytoplasm. Moreover, CRA treatment triggered the activation of caspase-8, -9 and -3 in HeLa cells. All these results indicate that CRA-induced apoptosis is associated with the activation of caspases via a mitochondrial pathway. Taken together, we believe that CRA could have strong potentials for clinical application in treating human cervix adenocarcinoma and improving cancer chemotherapy.