Several important Pistacia species such as P. vera have been traditionally used for treating a wide range of diseases (for instance, liver-related disorders). There is
a relative lack of research into pharmacological aspects of pistachio hull. Hence, this study was aimed at investigating whether pistachio rosy hull (PRH) extract
exerts apoptotic impacts on HepG2 liver cancer cell line. In order to evaluate cell viability and apoptosis in response to treatment with the extract, MTT assay and
Annexin-V-fluorescein/propidium iodide (PI) double staining were performed, respectively. Moreover, molecular mechanism of apoptosis induced by the extract
was determined using human apoptosis PCR array. Our findings showed that PRH extract treatment reduced cell viability (IC50 ~ 0.3 mg/ml) in a dose-dependent
manner. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the extract significantly induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells. In addition, quantitative PCR array results demonstrated
the regulation of a considerable number of apoptosis-related genes belonging to the TNF, BCL2, IAP, TRAF, and caspase families. We observed altered expression
of both pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic genes associated with the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis signaling pathways. These results suggest that the aqueous extract
of PRH possesses apoptotic activity through cytotoxic and apoptosis-inducing effects on HepG2 cells.
کلید واژگان :
Pistachio hull, Pistacia vera L., apoptosis, HepG2 cells, liver cancer.
