Studies on the Mechanism of Alloimperatorin on the Proliferation and Apoptosis of HeLa Cells

Alloimperatorin is a compound extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine (Angelica dahurica), which has exhibited anticancer activity. However, its precise molecular mechanism of anticancer remains unclear. Alloimperatorin-induced apoptosis of cervical cancer cells and its molecular mechanism were investigated in the present study. Cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) was employed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of alloimperatorin on HeLa, SiHa, and MS-751 cells. Flow cytometry was used to assess apoptosis induced by alloimperatorin. The mechanism of apoptosis was verified by mitochondrial membrane potential, Western blotting, and fluorescent PCR. The results of the study showed that alloimperatorin reduced the activity of HeLa cells. The calculated IC(50) at 48 hours was 116.9 μM. Compared with the control group, alloimperatorin increased the apoptotic rate of HeLa cells and reduced the mitochondrial membrane potential of HeLa cells. The Western blot results showed that alloimperatorin promotes the expression of caspase3, 8, 9 and that Bax apoptotic proteins reduce PARP expression, procaspase3, 8, 9, and BCL-2 proteins and reduces the cyt-c in the mitochondria expression. The results demonstrated that alloimperatorin can induce HeLa cell apoptosis through mitochondria and extrinsic apoptotic pathways.