Antitumour activity of 2-dihydroailanthone from the bark of Ailanthus altissima against U251

AbstractContext The bark of Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle (Simaroubaceae) is traditionally used to treat ascariasis, diarrhoea, spermatorrhoea, bleeding and gastrointestinal diseases.Objective The objective of this study is to investigate the antitumour activity and mechanism of 2-dihydroailanthone isolated from A. altissima.Materials and methods The U251 cells were treated with 1.00, 4.00 and 8.00 μg/mL of 2-dihydroailanthone for 48 h and the normal cells treated with 20.00 μg/mL of 2-dihydroailanthone were tested as well. Proliferation inhibition of 2-dihydroailanthone on the cells was tested by MTT. Apoptosis and cell-cycle distribution in U251 cells with 1.00, 3.00 and 5.80 μg/mL of 2-dihydroailanthone for 48 h were determined by flow cytometry, respectively. The expression of the apoptosis-related genes and proteins was analysed by RT-PCR and Western blot method, respectively.Results MTT assay revealed that 2-dihydroailanthone inhibited U251 cells proliferation. The cell viability of U251 cells...