ABSTRACT
AIM:To investigate the effects of evodiamine on the growth and apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma Huh7 cells,and to illustrate the molecular mechanism that evodiamine enhances antitumor activity of tumors nec -rosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand(TRAIL)in Huh7 cells.METHODS: The cell viability was measured by MTT assay.The cell cycle distribution was analyzed by flow cytometry.The apoptosis rate was determined by TUNEL stai-ning.The protein levels of cell cycle-and apoptosis-related proteins were detected by Western blot analysis.RESULTS:Treatment of Huh7 cells with evodiamine reduced the cell viability(P<0.05).Evodiamine induced cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase by upregulation of p27,cyclin B1, cell division cycle protein 2(Cdc2)and p-Cdc2.Evodiamine triggered apoptosis accompanied by cleavage of caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase(PARP).Combination of evodiamine with TRAIL significantly reduced the cell viability and increased cleavage of caspase -3 and PARP as compared with the use of each agent alone.Moreover,evodiamine increased the expression of death receptor 5(DR5)in the Huh7 cells.CON-CLUSION:Evodiamine inhibits the cell growth by reducing the cell viability and inducing cell cycle arrest.Evodiamine also triggers cell apoptosis and enhances the sensitivity of Huh 7 cells to TRAIL by upregulating the expression of DR5.