Abstract:The inhibitory effects of dioscin on the proliferatino of HepG2 cells were investigated. HepG2 cells were first treated with dioscin at different concentrations for 24 h. The proliferation ability, mitochondrial membrane potentials (MMP), reactive oxide species, and the Bcl-2 and Bax expressions of cells were detected by MTT assay, Hoechst 33258 staining, JC-1 staining, and western blotting. Results show an inhibition rate of 41.69% on the HepG2 cells treated with dioscin at 2.00 μmol/L. This rate is higher than that noted for the group treated with 1.00 μmol/L dioscin. After dioscin treatment, the distribution density of HepG2 cells reduces, and the cells become rounded, detached, and dead. At the same time, the ROS level increases, whereas the MMP decreases. Furthermore, the Bcl-2 protein expression is inhibited and that of Bax is enhanced. The experimental groups show significant differences from the control group. The relative expression levels of Bcl-2 and Bax in the 2.00 μmol/L dioscin-treated group are 0.08 and 0.10, respectively. The aforementioned results indicate that dioscin can effectively inhibit the proliferation ability and induce the apoptosis of HepG2 cells. This may be realized given that dioscin can reduce the MMP through mitochondrial pathways. As such, dioscin can enhance the protein expression of Bax and inhibit that of Bcl-2.
