Determination of glutathione in apoptotic SMMC-7221 cells induced by xylitol selenite using capillary electrophoresis

• Published in: Biotechnology letters 2016-05, Vol.38 (5), p.761-766
• Main Authors: Wu, Xue, Cao, Yu, Zhang, Jian, Lei, Ming, Deng, Xiaojie, Zahid, Kashif Rafiq, Liu, Yanli, Liu, Ke, Yang, Jihong, Xiong, Guomei, Yao, Hanchao, Qi, Chao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antineoplastic Agents - metabolism; Antioxidants; Apoptosis; Applied Microbiology; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Calibration; Cancer; Capillary electrophoresis; Cell Line, Tumor; Depletion; Electrophoresis, Capillary; Glutathione; Glutathione - analysis; Hepatocytes - chemistry; Hepatocytes - drug effects; Human; Humans; Life Sciences; Microbiology; Original Research Paper; Selenious Acid - metabolism; Selenites; Xylitol; Xylitol - metabolism
• ISSN: 0141-5492; 1573-6776
• DOI: 10.1007/s10529-016-2056-9

Objective To determine the glutathione (GSH) content in a human hepatoma cell line (SMMC-7221) treated with xylitol/selenite, providing a part of an investigation of its anti-cancer mechanisms. Results The nuclei of SMMC-7221 cells were stained with Hoechst 33258 in an apoptosis assay, and their morphology subsequently changed from circular to crescent shape. The calibration curve (r 2  = 0.992) was established, and GSH content markedly decreased after treated with 0.5 and 1 mg xylitol/selenite l −1 for 12, 36 and 60 h (12 h: from 95.57 ± 19.57 to 29.09 ± 7.74 and 24.27 ± 11.15; 36 h: from 70.73 ± 11.35 to 19.54 ± 6.39 and 9.35 ± 6.69; 60 h: from 72.63 ± 16.94 to 7.432 ± 3.84 and 0). The depletion rate of GSH was more related to the concentration of xylitol/selenite than the treatment time (from 69.95 ± 1.87 to 100 % vs. 0.22 ± 0.2 to 100 %). Conclusions Xylitol/selenite is a promising anti-cancer drug to induce apoptosis in SMMC-7221 cells. It may regulate the apoptosis through the co-action of multiple mechanisms related to GSH depletion.