When HepG2 and CCRF-CEM cells were exposed to serial concentrations of bile, there was clear evidence of dose-dependent cytotoxicity and cell proliferation inhibition (figure 1). Figure 1 The figure shows the effect of bile on percent growth inhibition in HepG2 and CCRF-CEM cell lines by MTT assay. The reduction in the rate of cell proliferation

is more obvious in HepG2 than CCRF-CEM. Before assay, the pH of all plates was neutral. Therefore, the cell proliferation inhibition was not related to a change in pH. To evaluate whether the growth Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical inhibition by the compounds against HepG2 cells was mediated through apoptotic process, we performed TUNEL assay. Exposures to a high concentration of bile led to morphological changes consistent with apoptosis. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical These changes included extensive cytoplasmic vacuolization and development of nuclear irregularity and fragmentation (figure 2 A and B). Apoptosis can be distinguished from necrosis by a set of characteristic morphological hallmarks, e.g. chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical cell shrinkage, plasma membrane blebbing, and the selleck kinase inhibitor presence of apoptotic bodies. These changes were not observed in low concentrations of bile. Figures 2A & 2B Apoptotic HepG2 cells as demonstrated by TUNEL assay which shows dark

staining brown nucleus (×400) (yellow arrows). Discussion Cancer Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical treatment has a chronic course, and the affected patients suffer from the side effects of chemotherapy. In order to palliate symptoms and maintain the patients’ quality of life, novel treatments with lower toxicity are welcome. Naturally occurring compounds with cytotoxic activity such as bile acids/salts offer attractive therapeutic options. The cytotoxic effects of bile acids on various cancers were

previously evaluated. Martinez and Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical colleagues studied the effect of four bile acids, cholic acid, CDCA, DCA and UDCA on colon carcinoma cell lines.11 They found that CDCA or DCA caused morphological changes of apoptosis, whereas UDCA inhibited cell proliferation but did not induce apoptosis. Cholic acid had no discernible effect on colon cancer cells. 11 The DCA induced apoptosis via a protein kinase C-dependent Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase signaling pathway. Im and colleagues evaluated the effects of synthetic derivatives of UDCA and CDCA on cervical cancer cell line and suggested that apoptosis occurred via NF-κB regulation of apoptotic genes such as Bax.13 DCA and CDCA had a significant dose-dependent cytotoxic effect on ovarian cancer cells with morphological features of apoptosis.8 Kim and their colleagues studied different human cancer cells such as breast, prostate, cervix, brain, colon, and human T cell leukemia and found that the synthetic bile acid induced growth inhibition and apoptosis. Induction and up-regulation of Bax and activation of caspases pathways were involved in this process.