Sanggenon C induces apoptosis of prostate cancer PC3 cells by activating caspase 3 and caspase 9 pathways

ZHOU Ping; DONG Xiaoxian; TANG Ping

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1673-4254.2017.09.11

Abstract：Objective To investigate the effects of Sanggenon C in inducing apoptosis of prostate cancer PC3 cell line and explore the underlying mechanism.Methods The proliferation of PC3 cells treated for 24 h with 1,5,20,50,and 100 μmol/L sanggenon C or treated with 20 μmol/L Sanggenon C for 0,6,12,24 and 48 h was evaluated using MFT assay.Flow cytometry was performed for analysis of apoptosis of PC3 cells after exposure to sanggenon C with different treatment protocols,and the activity of caspase 3 was detected using spectrofluorometry.The inhibitory effect of sanggenon C on PC3 cells pretreated with DMSO,z-DEVD-fmk,z-LEHD-fmk or z-IETD-fmk for 1 h was detected by MTT assay.Results Sanggenon C inhibited the proliferation of PC3 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner (P＜0.05 except for 1 μrnol/L group) with a 24-h IC50 of 18.76 μmol/L.Sanggenon C at 20 μmol/L caused inhibition rates of PC3 ceils of 10.57％,27.09％,51.88％,80.73％ and 87.99％ after treatment for 6,12,24,48,and 72 h,respectively (P＜0.05),and resulted in apoptosis rates of 7.43％,20.91％ and 37.56％ at 12 h,24 h and 48 h,respectively.Sanggenon C significantly increased caspase-3 activity in the cells,and its effect on PC3 cell proliferation was partially reversed by caspase 3 and caspase 9 inhibitors.Conclusion Sanggenon C can dose-dependently induce growth inhibition and apoptosis of PC3 cells possibly by activating caspase 9 and caspase 3 pathways.