ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE：To study the effects of shikonin on autophagy and apoptosis of human colon cancer HCT 116 cells. METHODS：After treating HCT 116 cells for 48 h with shikonin at 0（blank control ）10，20，40 μg/mL，MTT method was used to detect inhibitory rate of cell proliferation. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis rate. RT-qPCR assay and Western blotting were respectively used to detect mRNA and protein expressions of microtubule associated protein light chain 3（LC3）and autophagy-related protein Beclin- 1 and p 62. RESULTS ：Compared with blank control ，after treated with 10，20，40 μ g/mL shikonin for 48 h，proliferation inhibitory rate and apoptosis rate of HCT 116 cells were increased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜ 0.01）. After treated with 10，20，40 μg/mL shikonin for 48 h，mRNA and protein expressions of LC 3，Beclin-1 and p 62 in HCT116 cells were increased to different extents ；except that mRNA expression of LC 3 was not increased significantly after treated with 10 μg/mL shikonin，the difference were statistically significant in other indexes ，compared with blank control （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS ：Shikonin can induce the apoptosis of human colon cancer HCT 116 cells and activate its autophagy pathway.
ABSTRACT
EZH2 is over-expressed in human colon cancer and is closely associated with tumor proliferation, metastasis and poor prognosis. Targeting and inhibiting EZH2 may be an effective therapeutic strategy for colon cancer. 3-Deazaneplanocin A (DZNep), as an EZH2 inhibitor, can suppress cancer cell growth. However, the anti-cancer role of DZNep in colon cancer cells has been rarely studied. In this study, we demonstrate that DZNep can inhibit the growth and survival of colon cancer HCT116 cells by inducing cellular senescence and apoptosis. The study provides a novel view of anti-cancer mechanisms of DZNep in human colon cancer cells.