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Updated: May 29, 2026
Identification of Intracellular Signaling Events Induced in Viable Cells by Interaction with Neighboring Cells Undergoing Apoptotic Cell Death
Published on: December 27, 2016
Agrimonia pilosa ethanol extract induces apoptotic cell death in HepG2 cells
Kyoung Jin Nho1, Jin Mi Chun, Ho Kyoung Kim
1Center of Herbal Resources Research, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon 305-811, Republic of Korea.
Ethnopharmacological Relevance:
Agrimonia pilosa (AP) has been used as a traditional herbal medicine for treating various cancers and diseases in Asian countries.
Materials And Methods:
Cell viability along with caspase-3/-7, caspase-8 and caspase-9 activity were measured to detect apoptosis. The activity of the apoptotic factors bcl-2, bcl-xl, mcl-1, XIAP, BID, BIK, caspase-3, caspase-9 and PARP were measured by Western blotting. FACS analysis was used to analyze the cell cycle.
Results:
APE inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells. Growth inhibition was associated with increased caspase activity and sub-G1 apoptotic fractions. When we measured the affect of APE on intracellular signaling, APE stimulated the apoptotic factors bcl-2, bcl-xl, mcl-1, XIAP, BID, BIK, caspase-3, caspase-9 and PARP in HepG2 cells.
Conclusions:
The results indicate that APE induces programmed cell death (apoptosis) in HepG2 cells and demonstrates one of the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of the extract reported in previous studies.