BACKGROUND In this study, we ascertain whether caspase 8 activation and mitochondrial defects underlie apoptosis of ventricular myocytes during hypoxia. As an approach to circumvent the potential shortcomings surrounding the limited permeability and short half-life of the synthetic peptide inhibitors designed to block caspase activation, we constructed a replication-defective adenovirus encodin...

Raddeanin A (RA) is an extractive from Anemone raddeana Regel, a traditional Chinese medicine. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of RA against human gastric cancer (GC) cells (SGC-7901) and explore its mechanism. MTT assay showed that RA inhibition of proliferation of SGC-7901 cells increased in a dose-dependent manner. Flow cytometry analysis and Hoechst 33258 staining showed tha...

METHODS. Porcine corneal myofibroblasts (PCMs) were obtained from subcultured fibroblasts plated at a low density (5 cells/mm). Mouse anti-smooth muscle actin antibody was used to identify the cell phenotype. Immunofluorescence was performed to localize PAF and TNFreceptors in those cells. The reactivity of the antibodies was characterized by Western blot analysis. To induce myofibroblast apopt...

Anisomelic acid (AA), one of the major compounds in Anisomeles malabarica, was tested for its cytotoxicity and apoptosis-inducing potential in breast and cervical cancer cells. The MTT assay for cell viability indicated that AA is cytotoxic to all of the four cell lines tested in a dose- and duration-dependent manner. Acridine Orange & Ethidium Bromide (AO & EB) and Hoechst 33258 staining of AA...

Allicin, the main flavor compound in garlic, has anti-carcinogenic activities in a range of cancer cells, however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not completely understood. This study examined the effect of allicin on the cell viability of U87MG human glioma cells along with its molecular mechanisms of induction of cell death. Apoptosis w...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the antioxidant probucol on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) apoptosis. H2O2 (1 mmol/l) was used as the VSMC apoptosis-inducing agent, and 100, 10 and 1 µmol/l probucol concentrations were incubated with cells for 6 h. The cell apoptosis was observed using Annexin V-FITC, TUNEL and Hoechst 33258 staining m...

Dual beam flow cytometry of chromosomes stained with Hoechst 33258 and chromomycin A3 has been proposed as a method for quantitative classification of human chromosomes (bivariate flow karyotyping). In this paper we investigate the sources and magnitudes of variability in the mean fluorescence intensities of each chromosome group resolved in bivariate flow karyotypes and study the impact of thi...

Apoptosis is a critical determinant of tissue mass homeostasis and may play a role in carcinogenesis. The aim of the present study was to investigate anoxia-induced cell death in colon-derived HT29 cells and the effect of nitric oxide on this phenomenon. It was found that HT29 cells subjected to anoxia undergo apoptosis in a time dependent manner, as determined by DNA fragmentation and Hoechst-...

Objective Taccaoside, a steroidal saponin, has been shown to be cytotoxic, although the mechanism of cytotoxicity remains unclear. This study examined the effect of taccaoside on the human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines SMMC-7721 and Bel-7404. Methods The antiproliferative effect of taccaoside were measured using the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assa...

Interferon (IFN)-α is generated in response to viral infections and is used clinically in the therapy of a variety of viral infections and cancers. The present study investigated whether IFN-α could inhibit the invasive ability of osteosarcoma cells using a Matrigel invasion assay. In addition, the osteosarcoma cells were treated with cisplatin and/or IFN-α. Apoptosis and autophagy were assesse...