Apoptosis Induced by Caudatin in Human Hepatoma Cell Line SMMC7721

ABSTRACT AIM To investigate the effect of caudatin on human hepatoma cell line SMMC7721 in vitro . METHODS The inhibiting effects of 24, 48 and 72 h incubation with different concentrations (0-120 μmol·L −1 ) of the caudatin on SMMC7721 cells were evaluated by MTT assay. The cell cycle distribution was determined by PI (propidium iodide) staining and the percentage of apoptotic cells was determined by flow cytometry following Annexin V/PI staining. Caspase-3 activity was determined by measuring protease activity using Colorimetric Caspase-3 Activity Assay kit. RESULTS The proliferation of SMMC7721 cells was decreased after treatment with caudatin in both concentration- and time-dependent manners. Caudatin could induce apoptosis in SMMC7721 cells and could cause cell cycle arrest in G 0 /G 1 phase. The caspase-3 activity was increased in the time-dependent manner and reached the maximum at 8 h, then decreased. CONCLUSION Caudatin exerts antiproliferative effects on human hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC7721 cells. The anticancer activity of caudatin could be attributed partly to its inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis in cancer cells through caspase activation.