Role of caspase-8 in apoptosis of hepatoma cells induced by 5-fluorouracil

Objective To explore the relationship between the changes in activity of caspase-8 and apoptosis of HepG2 cells induced by 5-fluorouracil(5-Fu). MethodsThe HepG2 cells were treated with 5-Fu. The caspase-8 activity was detected using caspase-8 Fluorescent Assay Kit. The apoptotic rates of HepG2 cells induced by 5-Fu with or without the caspase-8 inhibitor IETD-FMK were measured by flow cytometry. ResultsAfter treatment with 10 -2mol/L 5-Fu, the caspase-8 activity in HepG2 cells increased gradually and reached the peak at 16 h. With the concentration of 5-Fu increasing, the caspase-8 activity also elevated, the group of high concentration was significantly higher than that of low concentration(P0.001). IETD-FMK could block the activation of caspase-8 and reduce the apoptosis of HepG2 cells induced by 5-Fu. Conclusions 5-Fu can induce apoptosis of HepG2 cells via caspase-8-transducted signal pathway, and can be blocked by IETD-FMK. 5-Fu promoted the increase of caspase-8 activity in a time and concentration-dependent manner.