Apoptosis of human prostate cancer cell line PC-3 induced by plumbagin

Abstract

Objective To study the effect of human prostate cancer cell line PC-3 apoptosis induced by plumbagin in vitro, and the relation to the expression of Rel A( p65 ). Methods PC-3 cells were co-cultured with the desired concentrations of plumbagin (1, 5, 10, 15, 20μjnol/L) for 24, 48 h. Cell inhibitory rate was measured by MTT colorimetric assay. Apoptosis-inducing effect was determined by double stained flow cytometry. The cell apoptosis morphologic changes were observed by a transmission e-lectron microscope. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of Rel A( p65). Results The growth inhibition of PC-3 cells appeared in 5 to 20μmol/L plumbagin solution for 24 h and 10 to 20 μmol/L for 48 h. IC50 of 24 h was 13.88μmol/L and 3.71μmol/L for 48 h, respectively. The apoptosis and the death rate of the cells showed that plumbagin reduced PC-3 cells apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner between 5 and 20μmol/L. RT-PCR revealed that the expression of p65 was reversely correlated with the apoptosis rate. Conclusion Plumbagin may inhibit human prostate cancer cell PC-3 proliferation and induce apoptosis of PC-3 cell line by suppressing p65 in vitro. Key words: Plumbagin; Carcinoma of prostate; Apoptosis