Apoptosis induced by ethyl acetate extract from Cortex Periplocae in human breast cancer cell line MCF-7

Objective:To investigate the effect of ethyl acetate extract from Cortex Periplocae(CPEAE)on apoptosis of human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and to discuss its mechanism.Methods:Inhibitory effect of CPEAE at different concentrations on MCF-7 proliferation was tested by MTT method.The morphological changes of cell apoptosis were observed by acridine orange/ethidium bromide(AO/EB) staining and transmission electron microscopy.Cell apoptotic ratio was measured by flow cytometry(FCM).The mRNA levels of apoptosis-associated genes,survivin and bax,were detected by RT-PCR before and after treatment with CPEAE,respectively.Results:CPEAE inhibited proliferation of MCF-7 cells in a concentration-and time-dependent manner with IC_(50) value(for 48 h) of(0.943±0.005)μg/mL(P0.05).The characteristic morphological changes of apoptosis were observed in MCF-7 cells after exposed to CPEAE.A typical subdiploid peak was detected by flow cytometry.The apoptotic ratio reached(30.24±1.26)% after CPEAE 2.0 μg/mL treatment for 72 h.CPEAE treatment decreased the expression of survivin mRNA but increased expression of bax mRNA in MCF-7 cells.Conclusion:CPEAE induced apoptosis of human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 through down-regulation of survivin mRNA expression and up-regulation of bax mRNA expression.