Mechanism of Triptolide-induced Human Liver Cell L-02 Apoptosis through Caspase Pathway

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the mechanism of triptolide-induced human liver cell L-02 apoptosis.METHODS:L-02 cells were cultured in vitro and the cytotoxic effects of triptolide were detected by MTT.Cell apoptosis was determined by FCM using the Annexin V-FITC/PI kit.The activity of Caspase 8,Caspase 9 and Caspase 3 were detected before and after incubated with the Caspase inhibitor.RESULTS:Triptolide markedly promoted L-02 cell apoptosis,positively correlated with the concentration of triptolide and the time.The activity of Caspase 3 increased significantly after L-02 cells treated with 120 nmol·L-1 triptolide for 24 h,and the addition of Z-DEVP-FMK effectively inhibited the apoptosis of L-02 cells.CONCLUSIONS:Triptolide induce apoptosis of human liver cell L-02,which is associated with the up-regulation of caspase 3 and caspase 9 activities.