Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of matrine, a natural alkaloid from Sophora flavescens with antiproliferative and proapoptotic activities, in human colon cancer using in vitro studies. Caco-2 cell line was treated with increasing doses (2.0 and 32 mg/ml) of matrine for 24 h. The MTT assay was used to measure abnormal cell multiplication, while flow cytometry was applied to determine the degree of apoptosis and cell growth. Western blot analysis was also used to detect the expression of various proteins. The results indicated that matrine blocked Caco-2 cell division in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. Matrine triggered apoptosis and blocked mitosis by altering the protein expression levels of B-cell lymphoma-2, B-cell lymphoma-2-associated X protein, cytochrome c, caspase-9 and caspase-3. In conclusion, matrine is found to interfere with the proliferation of colon cancer cells in vitro by triggering apoptosis through enhancing the expression of X protein, caspase-3 and caspase-9, as well as suppressing B-cell lymphoma-2 expression. Therefore, matrine is a potential natural compound that could be used in colon cancer treatment.