| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Compound K [20-<it>O</it>-β-(D-glucopyranosyl)-20(S)-protopanaxadiol], a metabolite of the protopanaxadiol-type saponins of <it>Panax ginseng </it>C.A. Meyer, has been reported to possess anti-tumor properties to inhibit angiogenesis and to induce tumor apoptosis. In the present study, we investigated the effect of Compound K on apoptosis and explored the underlying mechanisms involved in HL-60 human leukemia cells.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We examined the effect of Compound K on the viabilities of various cancer cell lines using MTT assays. DAPI assay, Annexin V and PI double staining, Western blot assay and immunoprecipitation were used to determine the effect of Compound K on the induction of apoptosis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compound K was found to inhibit the viability of HL-60 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner with an IC<sub>50 </sub>of 14 μM. Moreover, this cell death had typical features of apoptosis, that is, DNA fragmentation, DNA ladder formation, and the externalization of Annexin V targeted phosphatidylserine residues in HL-60 cells. In addition, compound-K induced a series of intracellular events associated with both the mitochondrial- and death receptor-dependent apoptotic pathways, namely, (1) the activation of caspases-3, -8, and -9; (2) the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential; (3) the release of cytochrome <it>c </it>and Smac/DIABLO to the cytosol; (4) the translocation of Bid and Bax to mitochondria; and (5) the downregulations of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. Furthermore, a caspase-8 inhibitor completely abolished caspase-3 activation, Bid cleavage, and subsequent DNA fragmentation by Compound K. Interestingly, the activation of caspase-3 and -8 and DNA fragmentation were significantly prevented in the presence of cycloheximide, suggesting that Compound K-induced apoptosis is dependent on <it>de novo </it>protein synthesis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results indicate that caspase-8 plays a key role in Compound K-stimulated apoptosis via the activation of caspase-3 directly or indirectly through Bid cleavage, cytochrome <it>c </it>release, and caspase-9 activation.</p>
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