Oxymatrine induces human pancreatic cancer PANC-1 cells apoptosis via regulating expression of Bcl-2 and IAP families,and releasing of cytochrome c

Background: oxymatrine,an isolated extract from traditional chinese herb sophora flavescens ait,has been traditionally used for therapy of anti-hepatitis b virus,anti-inflammation and anti-anaphylaxis. the present study was to investigate the anti-cancer effect of oxymatrine on human pancreatic cancer panc-1 cells,and its possible molecular mechanism. methods. the effect of oxymatrine on the viability and apoptosis was examined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium and flow cytometry analysis. the expression of bax,bcl-2,bcl-x (l/s),bid,bad,hiap-1,hiap-2,xiap,naip,livin and survivin genes was accessed by rt-pcr. the levels of cytochrome c and caspase 3 protein were assessed by western blotting. results: oxymatrine inhibited cell viability and induced apoptosis of panc-1 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. this was accompanied by down-regulated expression of livin and survivin genes while the bax/bcl-2 ratio was upregulated. furthermore,oxymatrine treatment led to the release of cytochrome c and activation of caspase-3 proteins. conclusion: oxymatrine can induce apoptotic cell death of human pancreatic cancer,which might be attributed to the regulation of bcl-2 and iap families,release of mitochondrial cytochrome c and activation of caspase-3. © 2011 ling et al; licensee biomed central ltd.