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Artemisinin as a Chinese medicine, selectively induces apoptosis in pancreatic tumor cell line

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Abstract

Objective

To investigate the possible mechanism through which Artemisinin induced apoptosis in pancreatic cell line.

Methods

Column chromatography, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and proton NMR spectroscopy were used to purify Artemisinin. The flowcytometry was employed to detect apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Results

The results indicated that 50% inhibiting concentration (IC50 value) for pancreatic cell line (RIN) was 45 μmol/L of Artemisinin. Artemisinin had no cytotoxic effect on the growth of peripheral blood lymphocytes. The mechanism of apoptosis was evaluated by measuring intracellular ROS. It was shown that Artemisinin-induced apoptosis occurred independently of the binding of CD95L to CD95 receptor in the RIN cells. Moreover, Artemisinin, in a dose-dependent manner, could significantly increase the level of ROS.

Conclusion

Artemisinin can induce apoptosis in the RIN cells via the generation of ROS and triggering the intrinsic pathway of cell death.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1985717443, Iran

    Shokoofe Noori

  2. Department of Immunology, School of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, 1411713116, Iran

    Zuhair. M. Hassan & Vida Farsam

Authors
  1. Shokoofe Noori
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  2. Zuhair. M. Hassan
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  3. Vida Farsam
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Correspondence to Shokoofe Noori.

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Noori, S., Hassan, Z.M. & Farsam, V. Artemisinin as a Chinese medicine, selectively induces apoptosis in pancreatic tumor cell line. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 20, 618–623 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-013-1454-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-013-1454-2

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