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Bufalin induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in gallbladder carcinoma cells

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Tumor Biology

Abstract

Bufalin, a major digoxin-like immunoreactive component of the Chinese medicine Chan Su, has been shown to exert a potential for anticancer activity against various human cancer cell lines in vitro. However, no detailed studies have so far been reported on its action on human gallbladder carcinoma cells. In this study, bufalin remarkably inhibited growth in human gallbladder cancer cells by decreasing cell proliferation, inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Bufalin also disrupted the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and regulated the expression of cell cycle and apoptosis regulatory molecules. Activation of caspase-9 and the subsequent activation of caspase-3 indicated that bufalin may be inducing mitochondria apoptosis pathways. Intraperitoneal injection of bufalin for 3 weeks significantly inhibited the growth of gallbladder carcinoma (GBC-SD) xenografts in athymic nude mice. Taken together, the results indicate that bufalin may be a potential agent for the treatment of gallbladder cancer.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81172026, 81272402, 81301816, and 81172029), Foundation of Shanghai Outstanding Academic Leaders (No. 11XD1403800), National High Technology Research and Development Program (863 Program) (No. 2012AA022606), Postdoctoral Research Foundation of China (No. 2012 M511107), Foundation for Interdisciplinary Research of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (No. YG2011ZD07), Shanghai Science and Technology Commission intergovernmental international cooperation project (12410705900), Shanghai Science and Technology Commission medical-guiding project (12401905800), and Program for Changjiang Scholars and Postdoctoral Research Program of Shanghai (No. 12R21415300).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biliary Tract Disease, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Lin Jiang, Ming-Ning Zhao, Tian-Yu Liu, Xiang-Song Wu, Hao Weng, Qian Ding, Yi-Jun Shu, Run-Fa Bao, Mao-Lan Li, Jia-Sheng Mu, Wen-Guang Wu, Qi-Chen Ding, Yang Cao, Yun-Ping Hu, Zhu-Jun Tan & Ying-Bin Liu

  2. Laboratory of General Surgery and Department of General Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No. 1665 Kongjiang Road, 200092, Shanghai, China

    Lin Jiang, Ming-Ning Zhao, Tian-Yu Liu, Xiang-Song Wu, Hao Weng, Qian Ding, Yi-Jun Shu, Run-Fa Bao, Mao-Lan Li, Jia-Sheng Mu, Wen-Guang Wu, Qi-Chen Ding, Yang Cao, Yun-Ping Hu, Zhu-Jun Tan & Ying-Bin Liu

  3. Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 197 Ruijin Er Road, 200025, Shanghai, China

    Bai-Yong Shen

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  1. Lin Jiang
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zhu-Jun Tan or Ying-Bin Liu.

Additional information

Lin Jiang, Ming-Ning Zhao, and Tian-Yu Liu contributed equally to this work.

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Jiang, L., Zhao, MN., Liu, TY. et al. Bufalin induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in gallbladder carcinoma cells. Tumor Biol. 35, 10931–10941 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-1911-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-1911-3

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