ABSTRACT
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death. Gemcitabine is widely used as a chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, but the prognosis is still poor. Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid extracted from a variety of natural herbs, possesses a variety of pharmacological properties including anticancer effects. In this study, we investigated the anticancer effects of berberine and compared its use with that of gemcitabine in the pancreatic cancer cell lines PANC-1 and MIA-PaCa2. Berberine inhibited cell growth in a dose-dependent manner by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. After berberine treatment, the G1 phase of PANC-1 cells increased by 10% compared to control cells, and the G1 phase of MIA-PaCa2 cells was increased by 2%. Whereas gemcitabine exerts antiproliferation effects through S-phase arrest, our results showed that berberine inhibited proliferation by inducing G1-phase arrest. Berberine-induced apoptosis of PANC-1 and MIA-PaCa2 cells increased by 7 and 2% compared to control cells, respectively. Notably, berberine had a greater apoptotic effect in PANC-1 cells than gemcitabine. Upon treatment of PANC-1 and MIA-PaCa2 with berberine at a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50), apoptosis was induced by a mechanism that involved the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) rather than caspase 3/7 activation. Our findings showed that berberine had anti-cancer effects and may be an effective drug for pancreatic cancer chemotherapy.
Subject(s)
Adult , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity , Child Psychiatry/education , Faculty , Learning Disabilities , Professional Competence/standards , Analysis of Variance , Brazil , Feasibility Studies , Schools , Self Report , Social Adjustment , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Aim: The present study was carried out to analyze the genetic variations among 20 different populations of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal collected from different habitats (locations) by RAPD analysis. Methodology: DNA was isolated from the fresh leaf samples collected from the field by Bernatsky and Tankley method. Isolated genomic DNA was purified by phenol: chloroform: isoamyl alcohol (25:24:1) extraction mixture and then amplified by MJ themal cycler. Amplified DNA products were quantified and then subjected to RAPD analysis by the method of Williams et al. Results: Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used to analyze the genetic variation and relationship among 20 populations of Withania somnifera collected from different part of South India, including the states of Tamilnadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra and supplemented by two commercial varieties from Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Out of 40 primers, 11 selected primers produced 96 consistent RAPD markers ranging in size from 0.2 kb to 4.0 kb; out of which 75 were polymorphic. Similarity indices were estimated using the Dice coefficient of similarity and cluster analyses were carried out on the similarity estimates using the unweighted pairgroup method to produce a dendrogram using arithmetic average (UPGMA) in the NTSYSpc-verson 1.80 software. The similarity coefficient ranges from 0.53 to 0.98, suggesting that the pronounced genetic variations exist among populations of W. somnifera in South India. The cluster analysis indicates that the 20 populations of W. somnifera were divided into five major groups, regardless of geographical locations. Conclusion: The RAPD analysis indicates existence of genetic variations in natural populations and it may influence and produce changes in phytochemical constituents of W. somnifera populations.