Effects of cordycepin on apoptosis of human osteosarcoma cell line MG63

KONG Jun-chao; CHEN Zhu-ming; LYU Gui-he; HUANG Shuai; WANG Chao-jun; ZHAO Ming-yan; CHU Jia-qi

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1001-9448.2018.04.005

Abstract：Objective To study the effect of different concentrations of cordycepin on the proliferation and apoptosis of human osteosarcoma cell line MG63. Methods Different concentrations of cordyceps were given to MG63 cells and sustained for 48 h. The morphological changes were observed by microscope. The effect of cordycepin on the proliferation of MG63 cells was detected by MTS. The effect of cordycepin on the cell cycle and apoptosis of MG63 cells was determined by flow cytometry. The effects of cordycepin on apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells were examined by Hoechst 33342 staining and Western blot. Results Cordycepin had a significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation of human osteosarcoma cells in concentration-and time-dependent manners. The results of flow cytometry showed that the cells were blocked in S and G2/M phase ( P < 0. 05 ) , and cordyceps could induce early apoptosis of MG63 cells ( P < 0. 05 ). The results of Western blot showed that the expression level of Bcl-2 protein was down-regulated ; Bax was up-regulated a-long with the increase of the concentration of cordycepin. The cleaved-PARP with molecular weight of 89 kD was determined in each experimental group. Conclusion Cordycepin can down-regulate the expression of Bcl-2 and up-regulate the pro-apoptotic protein Bax in MG63 cells, block the cell cycle, and promote early apoptosis.