Abstract:

Objective  To Investigate the antiproliferational effect of Marchantin M on human carcinoma cells. MethodsThe cytotoxic effect of Marchantin M was assessed by MTT assay. It′s inhibitory effect on the growth of PC-3 cells was measured by incorporation of BrdU. The cell cycle progression and apoptosis of PC-3 cells were determined by the flow cytometry assay. Alterations in the expression of cell cycle related proteins in PC-3 cells exposed to Marchantin M were determined by Western blotting. Nucleic morphological changes of Marchantin M-treated PC-3 cells were determined by staining cells with DAPI. Results  Marchantin M led to a viability inhibition of K562, HepG2, MCF-7, LNCaP, DU145 and PC-3 cells in a dose-dependent manner. However, Marchantin M had no significant inhibitory effects on the growth of normal human retina pigment epithelial cells（hTERT-RPE1）. Flow cytometry assay indicated that treatment with Marchantin M resulted in cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase. Further examination showed that the expression of cell cycle related proteins were changed after treatment. DAPI staining assay showed that Marchantin M treatment caused the increase in fraction of apoptotic cells. Conclusion  These observations indicate that Marchantin M is a promising compound that shows antitumor activity against protate cancer cells.

Key words: Marchantin M;  Apoptosis; Cell cycle; Prostate carcinoma cells