Dihydroartemisinin induces apoptosis in skin cancer cell line A-431 via ROS pathway

–Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) is a derivative of artemisinin that has been shown to inhibit cell growth and induce apoptosis in the several cancer cells via reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation. The present study was designed to understand the mechanism underlying Dihydroartemisinin-induced apoptosis in the A-431 human skin cancer cell line.MTT viability assay was used to study the cell proliferation effect of Dihydroartemisinin. Annexin V-FITC and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation were assessed to detect apoptosis. Dihydroartemisinin significantly inhibited cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner in A-431 cell line. Dihydroartemisinin significantly induced apoptosis, which was determined by Annexin VFITC staining. Moreover, increase of ROS formation was observed in response to Dihydroartemisinin treatment. The results of this study suggest that Dihydroartemisinin inhibited cell proletarian and induced apoptosis in skin cancer cells via ROS pathways. These data might suggest that Dihydroartemisinin could be used as an agent for the treatment of skin cancer. Keywords––Skin cancer, Dihydroartemisinin, apoptosis, ROS.