Tanshinone IIA isolated from Salvia miltiorrhiza BUNGE induced apoptosis in HL60 human premyelocytic leukemia cell line

Apoptosis is a new therapeutic target of cancer research. Tanshinone IIA isolated from Salvia miltiorrhiza BUNGE , a traditional oriental medical herb, was observed to induce apoptosis in HL60 human premyelocytic leukemia cell line. Tanshinone IIA induced DNA fragmentation into the multiples of 180 bp and increased the percentage of hypodiploid cells in flow cytometry after propidium iodide (PI) staining. Tanshinone IIA-induced apoptosis is accompanied by the specific proteolytic cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and the activation of caspase-3, a major component in apoptotic cell death mechanism.