[Effect of Sini San prescription on apoptosis and proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells]

Objective: To investigate the effects of Sini San prescription(SNS) on the proliferation and apoptosis of HepG2 cells and its molecular mechanism. Methods: The morphological changes of hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells treated by SNS were observed by inverted microscope. MTT assay was used to detect the inhibitory effect of SNS on cell proliferation. Fluorescence staining and flow cytometry were employed to analyze the effect of SNS on apoptosis of HepG2 cells. Rho123 (Rhodamine 123) staining method was performed to detect the changes of mitochondrial membrane potential, and Western blot was used to evaluate the expression of proteins related to apoptosis. Results: The number of hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells were significantly decreased (P＜0.01) and cells showed typical apoptotic cell morphology after treated with serum contained SNS. The inhibition rate of HepG2 cells was increased with the increase of concentration of serum contained SNS. The number of cells in G1 phase was significantly increased, while G2 phase was decreased after treated with serum contained SNS(P＜0.05).The apoptosis rate and mitochondrial membrane potential of HepG2 cells were significantly increased and decreased after treated with serum contained SNS(P＜0.05). The expression levels of Bax, caspase-3,-9 and cyt-c were significantly increased, while the expression of bcl-2 was decreased in HepG2 cells treated with serum contained SNS(P＜0.05).Conclusion: Sini San prescription can inhibit the proliferation of HepG2 cells and induce apoptosis by mitochondrial pathway.