TY - JOUR T1 - <em>Houttuynia cordata</em> Thunb Extract Inhibits Cell Growth and Induces Apoptosis in Human Primary Colorectal Cancer Cells JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 3549 LP - 3556 VL - 30 IS - 9 AU - KUANG-CHI LAI AU - YU-JEN CHIU AU - YIH-JING TANG AU - KUEI-LI LIN AU - JO-HUA CHIANG AU - YI-LIN JIANG AU - HSIU-FANG JEN AU - YUEH-HSIUNG KUO AU - SAKAE AGAMAYA AU - JING-GUNG CHUNG AU - JAI-SING YANG Y1 - 2010/09/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/30/9/3549.abstract N2 - It is reported that Houttuynia cordata Thunb. (HCT), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has many biological properties such as antiviral, antibacterial and antileukemic activities. However, the molecular mechanisms of cytotoxicity and apoptosis in human primary colorectal cancer cells are not clear. In this study, whether HCT induced cytotoxicity in primary colorectal cancer cells obtained from three patients was investigated. The results indicated that HCT inhibited growth of cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. After treatment with HCT (250 μg/ml) for 24 h, cells exhibited chromatin condensation (an apoptotic characteristic). HCT increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) in examined cells. Mitochondria-dependent apoptotic signaling pathway was shown to be involved as determined by increase in the levels of cytochrome c, Apaf-1, and caspase-3 and -9. The decrease in the level of ΔΨm was associated with an increase in the BAX/BCL-2 ratio which led to activation of caspase-9 and -3. Based on our results, HCT induced apoptotic cell death in human primary colorectal cancer cells through a mitochondria-dependent signaling pathway. ER -