Objective To investigate the inhibitory effect of ethyl acetate extract of Saxifrage Radix on mouse hepatocellular carcinoma cells and orthotopic transplanted tumors.
Methods In vitro experiments, H22 cells were treated with different concentrations of EST for 48 h, AO/EB double fluorescent staining, and laser confocal microscopy to observe cell morphological changes; nucleic acid electrophoresis and flow cytometry were used to detect the apoptosis of H22 cells. The mouse liver cancer orthotopic transplantation tumor model was established for in vivo experiments, and the effects of EST low, medium and high dose groups on tumor inhibition rate, T lymphocyte proliferation ability and liver pathological changes in tumor-bearing mice were compared.
Results The morphological changes of apoptosis in H22 cells after EST treatment were positively correlated with the concentration; nucleic acid electrophoresis showed a characteristic ladder of apoptosis; flow cytometry analysis showed that the apoptosis rate of the 500 μg/mL treatment group was 31%; in vivo experiments showed that The tumor inhibition rates of low, medium and high doses of EST were 33.0%, 46.7%, and 64.3%, respectively; the thymus index and T lymphocyte proliferation ability of mice were significantly improved (P<0.05). Cancer cells had different degrees of growth inhibition, morphological pyknosis, and decreased infiltration into surrounding tissues.
Conclusion EST can enhance the immune function and induce tumor cell apoptosis in mice, and has obvious anti-tumor effect, which is positively related to the dose.