Pfaffosidic Fraction fromHebanthe paniculataInduces Cell Cycle Arrest and Caspase-3-Induced Apoptosis in HepG2 Cells

Abstract

Hebanthe paniculata roots (formerly Pfaffia paniculata and popularly known as Brazilian ginseng) show antineoplastic, chemopreventive, and antiproliferative properties. Functional properties of these roots and their extracts are usually attributed to the pfaffosidic fraction, which is composed mainly by pfaffosides A–F. However, the therapeutic potential of this fraction in cancer cells is not yet entirely understood. This study aimed to analyze the antitumoral effects of the purified pfaffosidic fraction or saponinic fraction on the human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cell line. Cellular viability, proliferation, and apoptosis were evaluated, respectively, by MTT assay, BrdU incorporation, activated caspase-3 immunocytochemistry, and DNA fragmentation assay. Cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry and the cell cycle-related proteins were analyzed by quantitative PCR and Western blot. The cells exposed to pfaffosidic fraction had reduced viability and cellular growth, induced G2/M at 48 h or S at 72 h arrest, and increased sub-G1 cell population via cyclin E downregulation, p27KIP1 overexpression, and caspase-3-induced apoptosis, without affecting the DNA integrity. Antitumoral effects of pfaffosidic fraction from H. paniculata in HepG2 cells originated by multimechanisms of action might be associated with cell cycle arrest in the S phase, by CDK2 and cyclin E downregulation and p27KIP1 overexpression, besides induction of apoptosis through caspase-3 activation.

Modulation of Bax and Bcl-2 genes by secondary metabolites produced byPenicillium rubensJGIPR9 causes the apoptosis of cancer cell lines

“…A similar trend of increased apoptotic cells, i.e., sub-G1 phase was earlier reported due to the addition of bioactive compounds on cancer cell lines (Kajstura et al 2007;Belayachi et al 2017). A G2/M phase arrest in combination with an increase in the sub-G1 population has been reported earlier (Burgess et al 2006;da Silva et al 2015). Though P5 treatment resulted in increased sub-G1 phase and decreased cell count in cancer cells, the same did not cause any significant changes to the cell cycle of normal lymphocytes, clearly reflecting the specificity of P5 to the cancer cells.…”

Klebsiella pneumoniae Planktonic and Biofilm Reduction by Different Plant Extracts: In Vitro Study

“…The results obtained with P. paniculata are difficult to discuss, since the articles in the literature address only their anticancer and antitumor [27, 28], anti-inflammatory [29], and cell activity modulator [30] effects, among others. However, until the present moment, there is no research with this extract regarding its antimicrobial potential, which makes our study of great importance, while opening new perspectives for studies with promising results.…”

Anti-cancer Effects and Mechanisms of Diosmin in HepG2 Cells in Vitro Revealed by Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

“…Succinate dehydrogenase in living cells was able to deoxygenate exogenous MTT into a water-insoluble, blue-violet formazan and deposit it into cells. Next, we utilized this assay to screen for the pharmacodynamic effects of diosmin on multiple human cancer cell lines [21,22].…”