Objective: To evaluate the effect of Sarcandra glabra extracts on anti-tumor and apoptosis of implanted human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines in nude mice.
Methods: Models of CNE1 and CNE2 xenograft in nude mice were established to investigate the anti-tumor effect of Sarcandra glabra. The apoptosis of CNE1 and CNE2 cells were observed with TUNEL and FACS with PI-staining. The ultra micro-structured changes of CNE1 and CNE2 cells were observed by transmission electron microscope. The expression of Bcl-2 and Bax of xenografts were investigated by immunohistochemistry.
Results: The Sarcandra glabra extracts significantly inhibited the growth of tumor when compared with normal control group. The expression of Bcl-2 was lower (P<0.01) and the expression of Bax of the Sarcandra glabra group was higher(P<0.01) than that of normal control group. The rate of cell apoptosis exhibiting was higher than that of normal control group(P<0.01). Electron microscopy indicated the apoptosis of tumor cells with marginal nuclei, chromatin condensation and nuclei fragmentation, and apoptotic bodies were observed.
Conclusion: Sarcandra glabra suppresses the growth of tumor in vivo. The mechanism is associated with down-regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and up-regulating the expression of Bax to promote apoptosis.