Anticancer activity and mechanism of juglone on human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells

Induction of apoptosis in tumor cells has become the major focus of anti-tumor therapeutics development. Juglone, a major chemical constituent of Juglans mandshurica Maxim, possesses several bioactivities, including anti-tumor. In the present study, HeLa cells were incubated with juglone at various concentrations. The proliferation inhibition of juglone on HeLa cells was tested by the MTT assay. Occurrence of apoptosis was detected by Hoechst 33258 staining, flow cytometry, and transmission electron microscopy. The expression of apoptotic-related proteins was examined by Western blot. The results showed that juglone inhibits the growth of HeLa cells in dose–dependent manner. Topical morphological changes of apoptotic body formation after juglone treatment were observed. The percentages of early apoptosis of Annexin V-FITC were 5.23%, 7.95%, 10.69%, and 20.92% with the concentrations of juglone (12.5, 25, 50, and 100 µmol/L), respectively. After cells were treated with juglone at the different dose for 24 h, the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly down-regulated and the expression of Bax was significantly up-regulated compared with the control. These events paralleled with activation of caspase-9, -8, -3, and PARP cleavage. The results suggest that juglone may be effective for the treatment of HeLa cells.