Lycorine induces apoptosis and down-regulation of Mcl-1 in human leukemia cells
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Updated: Jun 29, 2026

Detection of Mitochondria Membrane Potential to Study CLIC4 Knockdown-induced HN4 Cell Apoptosis In Vitro
Published on: July 17, 2018
Xiao-shan Liu1, Jikai Jiang, Xiao-yang Jiao
1Center for Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Shantou University, Shantou 515031, China. xsliu@stu.edu.cn
Abstract:
Lycorine is an alkaloid isolated from the bulb of the Amaryllidaceae Lycoris. Here, we report that treatment with lycorine resulted in survival inhibition and apoptosis induction in human leukemia cell lines. Lycorine induced apoptosis in human leukemia cells via intrinsic mitochondria pathway and caused a rapid-turnover of protein level of Mcl-1 which occurred before caspases activation. Furthermore, pronounced apoptosis accompanied by the down-regulation of Mcl-1 was also observed in blasts from patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Our findings suggest that lycorine may be a good candidate therapeutic agent against leukemia in worth of further evaluation.
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