Bufalin Induces Mitochondria-Dependent Apoptosis in Pancreatic and Oral Cancer Cells by Downregulating hTERT Expression via Activation of the JNK/p38 Pathway

Figure 4

Blocking the JNK/p38 pathway reverses bufalin-induced hTERT downregulation in CAPAN-2 and CAL-27 cells. CAPAN-2 and CAL-27 cells were treated with 5 μM SP600125 or 10 μM SB203580 for 1 h and subsequently incubated with 100 nM bufalin for 24 h. Vehicle alone served as control. (a-b) The protein levels of p-JNK, JNK, p-c-Jun, and c-Jun (a) and p-p38 and p38 (b) were determined by western blot. Results of densitometric analysis are normalized to the correlative unphosphorylated protein. , . (c) The hTERT mRNA expression determined by RT-PCR. Data were normalized to β-actin and expressed as fold change relative to the control. , versus the control, , . (d) The hTERT protein expression determined by western blot. Data were normalized to GAPDH. , versus the control, , . (e) The telomerase activity determined by the telomerase PCR enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. , versus the control, , .

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