https://www.abbs.info E-mail:[email protected]
ISSN
0582-9879 Acta
Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica 2004, 36(3):211-217 CN 31-1300/Q
Effects of Huangqi (Hex) on Inducing Cell Differentiation
and Cell Death in K562 and HEL Cells
Xiao-Dong CHENG1$, Chun-Hui HOU1,
Xue-Jun ZHANG2, Heng-Yue XIE1, Wei-Ying ZHOU1,
Lei YANG2, Shu-Bing ZHANG1, and Ruo-Lan QIAN1*
(1State Key
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology,
Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
320 Yueyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China;
2Laboratory of
Molecular Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai
Institutes for Biological Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320
Yueyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China)
Abstract Huangqi
(Astragalus membranaceus), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been used to
ameliorate side effects of cancer chemotherapy in China. However, little is known
about its molecular mechanisms. Here we show that induction of K562 or HEL
cells with 1.5 mg/ml of Huangqi (Hex) (Components extracted from Huangqi) for 3–5 d results in
the expression of b-globin gene in both cell lines and leads to terminal differentiation.
Moreover, the apoptosis in HEL cells can be induced by increasing concentration
of Huangqi (Hex) to 4.5 mg/ml for 3–5 d. Upregulation of Apaf-1, caspase-3 and
acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in HEL cells may play a crucial role in the process
of apoptosis. The prospect of inducing expression of adult (β) globin gene and
apoptosis selectively in cancer cells is obviously attractive from a
therapeutic point of view.
Key words cell
death and differentiation; Huangqi (Hex); human erythroleukemia cell lines
________________
Received: November 27, 2003 Accepted:
December 16, 2003
This work was supported by the grants from the
National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 39893320, No. 39870378) and
the Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. Kj 982-j1618)
$Present
address: Division of Infectious Diseases and Environmental Medicine Center for
Human Virology and Biodefense, Thomas Jefferson University, 1020 Locust Street,
Suite 328 Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA patent No. for this work is 99119912.X
*Corresponding author: Fax, 86-21-54921011; Tel,
86-21-54921354; E-mail, [email protected]