Morin, a Flavonoid from Moraceae, Induces Apoptosis by Induction of BAD Protein in Human Leukemic Cells

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Cheol Park¹  Won Sup Lee²  Se-Il Go²  Arulkumar Nagappan²  Min Ho Han⁸  Su Hyun Hong⁸  Gon Sup Kim³  Gi Young Kim⁵  Taeg Kyu Kwon⁷  Chung Ho Ryu⁶  Sung Chul Shin⁴  Yung Hyun Choi⁸ 

[1] Department of Molecular Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Dongeui University, Busan 614-714, Korea; E-Mail:;Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju 660-702, Korea; E-Mails:;School of Veterinary Medicine, Research Institute of Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 660-701, Korea; E-Mail:;Department of Chemistry, Research Institute of Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 660-701, Korea; E-Mail:;Laboratory of Immunobiology, Department of Marine Life Sciences, Jeju National University, Jeju 690-756, Korea; E-Mail:;Division of Applied Life Science (BK 21 Program), Research Institute of Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 660-701, Korea; E-Mail:;Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, Daegu 704-701, Korea; E-Mail:;Department of Biochemistry, Dongeui University College of Oriental Medicine, Busan 614-052, Korea; E-Mails:

关键词: morin;    apoptosis;    BAD;    Bcl-xL;    leukemia;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms16010645

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

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 (ΔΨ_m) 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.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.