ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>In order to investigate the potential mechanisms in troglitazone-induced apoptosis in HT29 cells, the effects of PPARγ and POX-induced ROS were explored.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>[3- (4, 5)-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, Annexin V and PI staining using FACS, plasmid transfection, ROS formation detected by DCFH staining, RNA interference, RT-PCR & RT-QPCR, and Western blotting analyses were employed to investigate the apoptotic effect of troglitazone and the potential role of PPARγ pathway and POX-induced ROS formation in HT29 cells.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Troglitazone was found to inhibit the growth of HT29 cells by induction of apoptosis. During this process, mitochondria related pathways including ROS formation, POX expression and cytochrome c release increased, which were inhibited by pretreatment with GW9662, a specific antagonist of PPARγ. These results illustrated that POX upregulation and ROS formation in apoptosis induced by troglitazone was modulated in PPARγ-dependent pattern. Furthermore, the inhibition of ROS and apoptosis after POX siRNA used in troglitazone-treated HT29 cells indicated that POX be essential in the ROS formation and PPARγ-dependent apoptosis induced by troglitazone.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The findings from this study showed that troglitazone-induced apoptosis was mediated by POX-induced ROS formation, at least partly, via PPARγ activation.</p>