Abstract

CIFUENTES, Maria Claudia; CASTANEDA, Diana Mercedes; URUENA, Claudia Patricia  and  FIORENTINO, Susana. A fraction from Petiveria alliacea induces apoptosis via a mitochondria-dependent pathway and regulates HSP70 expression. Univ. Sci. [online]. 2009, vol.14, n.2, pp.125-134. ISSN 0122-7483.

Objective. To evaluate the biological activity of Petiveria alliacea extracts on tumoral cells in vitro. Materials and methods. P.alliacea fractions prepared by a bioguided purification protocol were characterized by their biological activities on two human tumoral cell lines. Morphological changes, cell viability, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, nuclear staining and activity on HSP70 were analyzed. Results. The present study demonstrates that P.alliacea fractions can induce apoptosis in a mitochondria-dependent pathway and down regulate HSP70 expression in vitro. The possible compounds present in P.alliacea responsible for the described biological activities were identified by dereplication methods. Conclusion. The present study provides new knowledge on the antitumoral properties of the plant species P. alliacea described in several ethnobotanical studies.

Keywords : apoptosis; cancer; heat shock proteins; Petiveria alliacea.

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