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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Experimental Analysis of Apoptotic Thymocyte Engulfment by Macrophages
Published on: May 24, 2019
Pyrogallol structure in polyphenols is involved in apoptosis-induction on HEK293T and K562 cells
Shinya Mitsuhashi1, Akiko Saito, Noriyuki Nakajima
1Division of Applied Bioscience, Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-9, Nishi-9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8589, Japan.
Abstract:
As multiple mechanisms account for polyphenol-induced cytotoxicity, the development of structure-activity relationships (SARs) may facilitate research on cancer therapy. We studied SARs of representatives of 10 polyphenol structural types: (+)-catechin (1), (-)-epicatechin (2), (-)-epigallocatechin (3), (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (4), gallic acid (5), procyanidin B2 (6), procyanidin B3 (7), procyanidin B4 (8), procyanidin C1 (9), and procyanidin C2 (10). Amongst them, the polyphenols containing a pyrogallol moiety (3-5) showed the most potent cytotoxicic activity. These compounds evoked a typical DNA-laddering phenomenon in HEK293T, which indicated that the induction of apoptosis at least partly mediates their cytotoxic activity. Anti-oxidative capacity of compounds 3-5 were comparable to those of the trimers 9 and 10, which were not cytotoxic. Therefore, we suggest that pyrogallol moiety is important for fitting of polyphenols to their putative target molecule(s) in non-oxidative mechanism.
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