Effects And Molecular Mechanisms Of Panax Notoginseng Saponins On SMMC-7721 Human Hepatocarcinoma Cells

Objective: To investigate the effects and potential molecular mechanisms of panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) on proliferation,apoptosis of SMMC-7721 human hepatocarcinoma cells.Methods: 1. Effects of PNS on SMMC-7721 cell proliferation was analyzed by MTT assay; 2. Cell apoptosis and distribution of cell cycles were examined by flow cytometry (FCM); 3. Flow cytometer analysis was used to detect the expression of p-ERK1/2 and Bcl-2 proteins in SMMC-7721 cells treated with PNS ; 4. The regulatory effects on gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) of SMMC-7721 cells treated with PNS were observed using the scrape loading/dye transfer (SL/DT) technique; 5. Expressions of Cx32mRNA and hTERTmRNA in SMMC-7721 cells were detected by RT-PCR. Results: 1. Compared to control group, PNS could inhibit the proliferation of SMMC-7721 cells significantly (P<0. 05) .After treated with 100mg/L, 200mg/L, 400mg/L PNS for 24-72 hours, the inhibition rates were increased from 17.86%-28.57% to 25.71%—45.71%. However, the inhibit effects of 25mg/L,50mg/L PNS were not obvious and the 800mg/L PNS could lead to cellular necrosis; 2. After treated with PNS for 72 hours, the G₀/G₁ phase cells increased while the S, G₂/M phase cells decreased and 87. 42% of cells were arrested at G0/G1 phase after treated with 400mg/L PNS. Meanwhile, PNS could also induce the apoptosis of SMMC-7721 cells. All this effects of PNS were in a dose-dependent manner; 3. Flow cytometer analysis found that the positive rates of p-ERKl/2 and Bcl-2 proteins in SMMC-7721 cells...