ABSTRACT
Ouabain is used in the clinical treatment of the cardiovascular diseases and it can be extensively investigated due to its promising pharmacological, pathological, and physiological properties. The present study is aimed to assess the growth and apoptotic potential of ouabain in RAW 264.7 cells. Varying concentrations of ouabain were applied to cultured RAW 264.7 cells for different time. At 0.01 to 1.00mM doses, ouabain inhibited the proliferation and presented cytotoxicity in both dose- and time-dependent manner. The compound also increased apoptosis after 24 and 48 hours of exposing to 1.00mM dose. Furthermore, the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA significantly decreased following ouabain treatment while Bax mRNA expression increased significantly. In brief, ouabain inhibits cell growth, exerts cytotoxicity and induces apoptosis in RAW 264.7 cells by down-regulating the Bcl-2/Bax ratio at mRNA level