Apoptosis of HeLa cell induced by pseudolanc acid B in vitro

OBJECTIVE To study the mechanism of pseudolaric acid B-induced apoptosis on HeLa cells. METHODS MTT, fluorescence microscope observation, DNA agarose gel electrophoresis and Western blot analysis were used. RESULTS Pseudolaric acid B induces HeLa cells apoptosis in a time-and dose-dependent manner. Apoptotic bodies were observed in pseudolaric acid B-treated HeLa cells. The expression of Bcl-2 was reduced time-dependency, and the expression of Bcl-xL protein had no change. On the contrary, the expressions of Bax and p53 were increased time-dependently. CONCLUSION The cytotoxic effect of pseudolaric acid B on HeLa cells was mainly due to apoptosis. Mitochondrial oncogenes and p53 might be involved in the apoptotic pathways of pseudolaric acid B-treated HeLa cells.