Effects of Pinus massoniana bark extract on cell proliferation and apoptosis of human hepatoma BEL-7402 cells

AIM： To study the effects of Pinus massoniana bark extract （PMBE） on cell proliferation and apoptosis of human hepatoma BEL-7402 cells and to elucidate its molecular mechanism. METHODS： BEL-7402 cells were incubated with various concentrations （20-200 μg/mL） of PMBE for different periods of time. After 48 h, cell proliferation was determined by 3-（4,5-dimethyl-thiazolyl-2）-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide （MTT） assay. Apoptosis was evaluated by morphological observation, agarose gel electrophoresis, and flow cytometry analysis. Possible molecular mechanisms were primarily explored through immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS： PMBE （20-200 μg/mL） significantly suppressed BEL-7402 cell proliferation in a time-and dose-dependent manner. After treatment of BEL-7402 cells with 160 μg/mL PMBE for 24, 48, or 72 h, a typical apoptotic “DNA ladder” was observed using agarose gel electrophoresis. Nuclear condensation and boundary aggregation or split, apoptotic bodies were seen by fluorescence and electron microscopy. Sub-G1 curves were displayed by flow cytometry analysis. PMBE decreased the expression levels of Bcl-2 protein in a time-dependent manner after treatment of cells with 160 μg/mL PMBE. CONCLUSION： PMBE suppresses proliferation of BEL-7402 cells in a time-and dose-dependent manner and induces cell apoptosis by possibly downregulating the expression of the bcl-2 gene.