Mechanism of Lycopene Induced Cell Apoptosis on Human Colon Cancer SW480 Cells

Objective To investigate the effect of Lycopene on the apoptosis of human colon cancer SW480 cells and the relevant molecular mechanism. Methods The anti-proliferative effect of a different concentration of Lycopene on SW480 cells was measured by MTT assay.Ratio of SW480 cells apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry.The levels of Bcl-2,Bax were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot.The expression levels of Caspase-9 and Caspase-3 were analyzed by Western blot. Results The MTT assay showed that Lycopene had potent anti-proliferative effect on SW480 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner.The IC50 value of Lycopene was SW480 cells treated with 1.0 μmol/L Lycopene for 24 hours.Flow cytometry analysis revealed that Lycopene increased the percentage of apoptotic SW480 cells.The expression level of Bcl-2 were decreased,while the expression levels of Bax,Caspase-9 and Caspase-3 were increased significantly in SW480 cells treated with different concentrations of Lycopene. Conclusion Lycopene could induce apoptosis of SW480 cells by decreasing the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax and increasing Caspase-9 and Caspase-3 expression.