Apple polysaccharides induce apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells

Certain components of apples have been shown to prevent cancer growth and impede cancer progression. We hypothesized that extracted apple polysaccharides (APs) might, therefore, have anticancer effects, through a mechanism involving the induction of apoptosis in cancer cells, partly via the NF-κB pathway. Two human colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines, HT-29 and SW620, were exposed to different concentrations of APs (0.01, 0.1 or 1 mg/ml). Cell apoptosis was measured by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay by flow cytometry and incorporation of 5'-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) into DNA to identify the proliferating cell fraction, using fluorescence microscopy in vitro. The protein levels of NF-κB/p65, I-κBα, pI-κBα, Bax, Bcl-xl and Bcl-2 were evaluated by western blotting. The target sites of APs on CRC cells were assessed by flow cytometry. At concentrations of 0.1 and 1 mg/ml, APs showed apoptosis-inducing effects, increased expressions of Bax, nuclear p65 and cytoplasmic pI-κBα, and decreased expressions of Bcl-2, Bcl-xl and cytoplasmic I-κBα. APs induced apoptosis by slightly activating the NF-κB pathway; the AP target site could be the Toll-like receptor 4 on the cell membrane. These results demonstrate the potential of APs as agents for clinical prevention and treatment of CRC.