Issue Archive

Effect of the venom of the spider {sl Macrothele raveni} on the expression of {sl p21} gene in HepG2 cells

Gao Li, Shen Jinbao, Sun Jie, Shan Baoen

College of Life Science, Hebei Normal University.Shijiazhuang 050016,Hebei；China；Science and Technology Company, Hebei Medical University.Shijiazhuang 050017,Hebei

Abstract

This paper focuses on the effect of the venom of the spider Macrothele raveni on the proliferation of human hepatocelluar carcinoma cell line HepG2 and the related molecular mechanism. XTT test showed that the proliferation of HepG2 cells in vitro was inhibited by the spider venom (P＜0.05) in a concentration-dependent manner. By using flow cytometry, it was found that the spider venom caused selective G_(2)/M cell cycle arrest in HepG2 cells. RT-PCR and Western blot indicated the expressions of p21 mRNA and protein in HepG2 cells were obviously up-regulated by the spider venom. The venom of the spider Macrothele raveni inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells. These results suggest that the possible mechanism of the spider venom is to activate the expressions of p21 gene and protein and to cause selective cell cycle arrest at G_(2)/M phase, leading to HepG2 cell apoptosis.

Key words: the venom of the spider Macrothele raveni;HepG2 cells;Cell cycle;p21 gene;p21 protein

Received: 　　Accepted:

Corresponding author: 　　E-mail:

Citing This Article：

Gao Li, Shen Jinbao, Sun Jie, Shan Baoen. Effect of the venom of the spider {sl Macrothele raveni} on the expression of {sl p21} gene in HepG2 cells. Acta Physiol Sin 2007; 59 (1): 58-62 (in Chinese with English abstract).