Cytotoxicity and mechanism of 23-O-acetylcimigenol-3-O-β-D- xylopyranoside on HepG2 cells

Objective: To elucidate the cytotoxicity and mechanism of 23-O-acetylcimigenol-3-O-β-D-xylopyranoside isolated from C. dahurica on HepG2 cells and to find the leading compound for new drug development. Method: MTT, AO/EB staining observation, flow cytometry and western blot methods were used to study the cytotoxicity, morphological changes, cell cycle distribution and protein expression profile of 23-O-acetylcimigenol-3-O-β-D- xylopyranoside on HepG2 cells. Result: 23-O-acetylcimigenol-3-O-β-D- xylopyranoside could inhibit the proliferation of HepG2 cells with IC ₅₀ at 16 μmol·L^-1, and could also induce apoptosis and G₂-M cell cycle arrest Further study demonstrated that the compound could cleavage PARP, regulate protein expression of bcl-2 family and decrease the expression of cdc 2 and cyclin B. Conclusion: 23-O-acetylcimigenol-3-O-β-D-xylopyranoside exerts its cytotoxicity on HepG2 cells via apoptosis and G₂-M arrest. In addition, caspases family activation, regulation of protein expression of bcl-2 family and down regulation of cdc 2 and cyclin B were involved in apoptosis and G₂-M arrest induced by it.