Abstract
Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) has been proven to be an anticancer agent in many studies. However, its effectiveness in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and its molecular mechanisms are still unclear. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of TMP against Jurkat and SUP-B15 ALL cell lines and to investigate the possible detailed mechanism of action of TMP. A Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was employed to examine the proliferation of Jurkat and SUP-B15 cells. Flow cytometric analysis was conducted to detect the cell cycle distribution and apoptotic rate. The expression of total glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β), cox-2, survivin, bcl-2 and p27 RNA and protein levels was detected by quantitative real-time PCR and western blot assay, respectively. Additionally, western blot analysis was used to determine the whole-cell and nuclear protein levels of GSK-3β downstream transcription factors, NF-κB (p65) and c-myc. TMP inhibited the proliferation of Jurkat and SUP-B15 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner, with IC₅₀ values of 120 and 200 µg/ml, respectively at 48 h. TMP induced the apoptosis of Jurkat and SUP-B15 cells and synergistically blocked cell cycle progression at the G0/G1 phase. Cells treated with TMP exhibited significantly attenuated GSK-3β, NF-κB (p65) and c-myc expression, followed by downregulation of bcl-2, cox-2 and survivin and an upregulation of p27. The results showed that TMP induced apoptosis and caused cell cycle arrest in Jurkat and SUP-B15 cells through the downregulation of GSK-3β, which may have further prevented the induced translocation of NF-κB and c-myc from the cytoplasm to the nucleus.
MeSH terms
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Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
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Apoptosis / drug effects
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Cell Cycle / drug effects
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Cell Line, Tumor
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Cell Proliferation / drug effects
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Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27 / drug effects
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Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27 / genetics
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Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27 / metabolism
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Cyclooxygenase 2 / drug effects
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Cyclooxygenase 2 / genetics
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Cyclooxygenase 2 / metabolism
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Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / drug effects*
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Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / genetics
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Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / metabolism
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Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta
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Humans
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Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / drug effects
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Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / genetics
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Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / metabolism
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Jurkat Cells
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Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / genetics*
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Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / metabolism
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / drug effects
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / genetics
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / metabolism
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / drug effects
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / metabolism
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Pyrazines / pharmacology*
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RNA, Messenger / drug effects*
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RNA, Messenger / metabolism
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Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
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Survivin
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Transcription Factor RelA / drug effects
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Transcription Factor RelA / metabolism
Substances
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Antineoplastic Agents
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BIRC5 protein, human
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CDKN1B protein, human
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Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins
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MYC protein, human
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc
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Pyrazines
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RNA, Messenger
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Survivin
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Transcription Factor RelA
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Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27
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Cyclooxygenase 2
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PTGS2 protein, human
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GSK3B protein, human
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Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta
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Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3
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tetramethylpyrazine