Ce4＋-Induced Apoptosis of Taxus cuspidata Cells in Suspension Culture

The standard detection hallmarks of apoptosis of Taxus cuspidata cells in suspension culture with Ce4+ were studied. The condensation and margination of chromatin were observed under the electron microscopy. DNA fragmentation ranged "DNA ladder" on agarose gel electrophoresis. TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) analysis of the cells reveals that the nuclear DNA strand breaks can be identified by labeling free 3'-OH termini. These results suggest that Ce4+ can induce apoptosis of Taxus cuspidata cells and also indicate that there is a certain relationship between apoptosis and secondary metabolite preduct-Taxol.