Effects of Rutaecarpine on Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Apoptosis in Murine Hepa-1c1c7 Cells

The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of rutaecarpine on DNA strand breaks and apoptosis induced by hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) in murine Hepa-1c1c7 cells. Oxidative DNA damage was estimated by nuclear condensation assessment, fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis, and Comet assay. Rutaecarpine inhibited cell death induced by 500 μM H(2)O(2), as assessed by 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining. Treatment with rutaecarpine reduced the number of DNA strand breaks induced by H(2)O(2), as assessed by DAPI staining and Comet assay, and increased quinone reductase, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and pAkt protein levels, as assessed by western blotting.