[The anti-leukemia effect of Sophora flavescens and its mechanism]

By using CFU-GM/CFU-L colony assay, NBT/MTT reductant test and DNA fragmentation analysis, we studied the effects of Sophora flavescens (SF) on CFU-GM proliferative ratio in human normal bone marrow/umbilical cord blood and on proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis in human acute myelogenous leukemia HL-60 cells. The results showed that 5, 10, 15, 20 micrograms.microliter-1 of SF significantly inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in the HL-60 cells in a dose-dependent fashion. Fifteen micrograms.microliter-1 of SF also induced differentiation in HL-60 cells. Furthermore, cytotoxic activity of SF(5-15 micrograms.microliter-1) was not apparent on human normal hematopoietic progenitors(CFU-GM). The results indicate that an appropriate concentration of SF has a selective antileukemic effect. Thus, these are important impetuses for further research of SF as an anticancer agent.