Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate Inhibits Quinolone Alkaloid Evocarpine‐Induced Apoptosis via Activation of Protein Kinase A in Human Leukaemic HL‐60 Cells

: Evocarpine, an isoquinolone alkaloid isolated from the fruit of Evodia rutaecarpa, was found to induce apoptotic cell death in promyelocytic leukaemia HL-60 cells in dose- and time-dependent manners. We investigated the involvement of protein kinase A during the evocarpine-induced apoptotic cell death. Evocarpine-induced apoptosis was markedly inhibited by treatment of the cells with dibutyryl-cyclic adenosine monophosphate. Similar results were obtained with other commonly used cyclic adenosine monophosphate analogues, chlorophenylthio-cyclic adenosine monophosphate and the intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate-elevating agent, forskolin. In contrast, pretreatment of HL-60 cells with KT5720, an inhibitor of cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinase A, abrogated the protective effects of cyclic adenosine monophosphate analogues and forskolin on evocrpine-induced apoptosis. These findings suggest that cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent activation of protein kinase A plays a crucial role in protecting HL-60 cells from the evocarpine-induced apoptotic cell death.