Cytotoxic Effects of Theranekron D6 on HepG2 Heaptocellular Carcinoma Cells

Abstract

Theranekron D6 is an alcholic extract of Tarantul cubensis. In this study, the cytotoxic effects of Theranekron D6 on HepG2 and on AML12 cells were investigated by MTT analyses. Gene expression analyses were performed by qRT-PCR. Apoptotic, necrotic, and healthy cells were viewed by a fluorescent microscope, and they were counted by a flow cytometry device. 143 µg/mL Theranekron D6 was calculated as an IC50 value for HepG2 cells, and it was applied to both cell lines. No significant increase in the amount of apoptotic and necrotic cells was observed at the AML12 cells, while both of them increased by 31.04% at the HepG2 cells by Therankron D6 application. The accuracy of flow cytometry data was confirmed through fluorescence microscope analyses. At the HepG2 cells, significant increases were observed at the expression levels of Bax (5.61 ± 0.34), Cas3 (2.74 ± 0.34), APAF1 (3.64 ± 0.44), and p53 (2.10 ± 0.3) genes, but at the AML12 cells, the expression levels of the same genes 1.14 ± 0.14, 0.54 ± 0.17, 0.71 ± 0.17, and 0.93 ± 0.3 not increased. Based on these data, it was concluded that Theranekron D6 may be a chemotherapy candidate for HepG2 cells.