The anti-proliferation effect of triterpenoid extracted from Actinidia Chinese plant root

Objective: Actinidia Chinese plant root extract exhibits an antitumor effect, particularly on gastrointestinal tumors. Different methods and reagents may result in the extraction of different constituents. This study aimed to observe the antitumor effect of ethanol-derived triterpenoids from Actinidia Chinese plant (TACP) and to determine its mechanism on human colonic cancer cells. Method: MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) Cell Proliferation Assay was used to verify the inhibitory effect of TACP. Hochest33258 staining was employed to observe the morphological changes of the cells. Annexin V/PI double staining was used to observe the apoptosis of SW480 cells, and PI single staining was employed to observe the cycle of SW480 cells. Western blot and real-time PCR analyses were performed to detect the expression of apoptosis/cell-cycle-related mRNA and protein levels in SW480 cells treated with TACP. Results: MTT results showed that TACP could inhibit the proliferation of SW480 and LOVO cells in a doseand time-dependent manner. Hochest 33258 showed that the SW480 cells exhibited apoptotic features after TACP treatment. FCM results showed that the apoptosis rate of SW480 cells increased 48 h after TACP treatment. This result might be connected with the up regulation of caspase-3, caspase-7, and Fas expression levels. Moreover, TACP induced the cell cycle arrest of SW480 cells at the sub-G1 phase, which might have down regulated the expression of cyclinD1 and up regulated the expression of P53 and P21. Conclusion: The ethanolic extract of Actinidia Chinese plant root displayed strong antitumor effects against SW480 cells and could induce tumor cell apoptosis in vitro. Its mechanism of action might involve cell cycle arrest (G0/G1); induction of apoptosis through the up regulation of Fas, caspase-3, and caspase-7 protein levels, as well as P53 and P21 gene levels; and the down regulation of CyclinD1 expression. These findings provided a molecular theoretical basis for the clinical application of TACP.