Novel dihydroartemisinin derivative Mito-DHA(5) induces apoptosis associated with mitochondrial pathway in bladder cancer cells

BACKGROUND: Bladder cancer is the second most common genitourinary malignancy and the eleventh most common cancer worldwide. Dihydroartemisinin (DHA), a first-line antimalarial drug, has been found to have potent antitumor activity. In our previous study, a novel dihydroartemisinin derivative Mito-DHA(5) synthesized in our laboratory has a stronger anti-tumor activity than DHA. In this study, we investigated the apoptotic effect of Mito-DHA(5) on bladder cancer T24 cells and molecular mechanisms underlying. METHODS: Antitumor activity in vitro was evaluated by MTT, wound healing and cloning formation assays. Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) was detected by JC-1 probe and ROS levels were measured by specific kit. The expression of caspase-3, cleaved-caspase3, mitochondrial Cyt-C, Bcl-2, Bax and PARP in T24 cells was evaluated by Western blotting. RESULTS: The results showed that Mito-DHA(5) reduced cell viability with an IC(50) value of 3.2 µM and induced T24 cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner, increased the production of ROS and decreased MMP. Mito-DHA(5) could down-regulate the expression of Bcl-2, mitochondrial Cyt-C, Caspase-3, PARP and up-regulate the expression of Bax and cleaved Caspase-3. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggested that Mito-DHA(5) had a potent inhibitory effect on T24 bladder cancer cell growth and induced these cells apoptosis associated with mitochondrial pathway.