morin and Leukemia

Evidence suggests that phytochemicals can safely modulate cancer cell biology and induce apoptosis. Here, we investigated the anti-cancer activity of morin, a flavone originally isolated from members of the Moraceae family in human leukemic cells, focusing on apoptosis. An anti-cancer effect of morin was screened with several human leukemic cell lines. U937 cells were most sensitive to morin, where it induced caspase-dependent apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. It also induced loss of MMP (ΔΨm) along with cytochrome c release, down-regulated Bcl-2 protein, and up-regulated BAX proteins. The apoptotic activity of morin was significantly attenuated by Bcl-2 augmentation. In conclusion, morin induced caspase-dependent apoptosis through an intrinsic pathway by upregulating BAD proteins. In addition, Bcl-2 protein expression is also important in morin-induced apoptosis of U937 cells. This study provides evidence that morin might have anticancer properties in human leukemic cells.

Topics: Apoptosis; bcl-2-Associated X Protein; bcl-Associated Death Protein; Caspases; Cell Line, Tumor; Down-Regulation; Flavonoids; HL-60 Cells; Humans; K562 Cells; Leukemia; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial; Moraceae; Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; U937 Cells; Up-Regulation