ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Eupafolin, an extract from Artemisia princeps, possesses multiple pharmacological activities. However, the effect of eupafolin on B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas is currently unknown. In this study, we report that eupafolin shows anticancer activity against B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas cell line, OCI-LY-3. METHODS: A CCK-8 assay was used to detect the proliferation inhibition of OCI-LY-3 cells treated with additional concentrations of eupafolin. Flow cytometric analysis method of the cell apoptosis was detected after cells stained with Annexin-V-FITC/PI according to the manufacturer's instructions. The proteins in the cell were detected by western blot after treatment with eupafolin. KEY FINDINGS: Eupafolin induced apoptosis in this cell line evidenced by the caspases activation, cleavage of PARP and downregulation of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl. Eupafolin-induced autophagy was verified by accumulation of LC3-II and beclin-1. Eupafolin induced autophagy promoting apoptosis by the treatment of eupafolin combined with autophagy inhibitors 3-methyladenine and bafilomycin A1, respectively. Moreover, we disclose that the expression levels of p-Akt, p-mTOR,p-P70S6K and p-4EBP1 decrease in the Akt/mTOR signalling pathway, and the expression levels of proteins in the NF-ΚB signalling pathway, such as p-p65, p-IκBα, is downregulation. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these results provide crucial evidences explaining the antitumour activity of eupafolin in human NHL cell line, OCI-LY-3.