RESUMO
Objective: To investigate the effects and mechanism of osthole on proliferation and apoptosis in a hepatocellular carcinoma cell ( HCC) line Hep G2. Methods: Treated cells with osthole at different concentrations. Cell viability was measured by CCK8 assay and apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. Western blot was performed for calculating the expression levels of proliferation-related, apoptosis-related proteins and PTEN. After pretreatment with bp V ( HOpic), cell proliferation and apoptosis were measured again. Results: Treatment with osthole ( 100 μmol/L) for 4 and 5 days inhibited cell viability of HCC markedly ( P＜0. 05, P＜0. 01). Osthole ( 150 μmol/L) decreased cell viability of HCC with a time-dependently manner and also decreased the expressions of Ki67 and PCNA ( P＜0. 05, P＜0. 01). Meanwhile, treatment with osthole ( 100 μmol/L, 150 μmol/L) induced apoptosis of HCC significantly coupled with increasing Bax and decreasing Bcl-2 ( P＜0. 05, P＜0. 01). In addition, osthole ( 100 μmol/L, 150 μmol/L) up-regulated the protein level of PTEN ( P＜0. 05, P＜ 0. 01). Furthermore, pretreatment with bp V ( HOpic) ( 1 μmol/L) notably reversed the inhibitory effect on proliferation and promotive effect on apoptosis of osthole ( P＜0. 05). Conclusion: Osthole inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis of HCC by up-regulating the protein level of PTEN.