Apoptotic effect of CKD-602 (Camtobell) on oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines.

The purposes of this study were to measure the cytotoxic effect of CKD-602 on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines, to evaluate the apoptotic aspect of dead cells, and to identify the signaling molecules involved in apoptosis. The human OSCC cell lines A253, HSC-3 and KB were treated with CKD-602. The apoptotic proportion of the cells was analyzed using flow cytometry. The expression of Bax, Bcl-2, and p53 were detected by western blotting analysis. CKD-602 showed excellent cytotoxicity to the OSCC cell lines. Most cell death was attributed to apoptosis rather than necrosis. CKD-602 induced the down-regulation of Bcl-2 in A253 and HSC-3 cells, and p53 was expressed in the KB cell line after treatment with CKD-602.