The Critical Role of Redox Homeostasis in Shikonin-Induced HL-60 Cell Differentiation via Unique Modulation of the Nrf2/ARE Pathway
Figure 1
Shikonin inhibits proliferation and induces differentiation in HL-60 cells. (a) The effects of Shikonin on HL-60 cell proliferation. The inhibition ratio of cell proliferation was determined by the MTT assay after a 72 h incubation with Shikonin as indicated concentrations. The effects of Shikonin on the morphologic changes (b), NBT-reducing activity (c), and CD11b and CD14 mRNA expression (d) of HL-60 cells treated with 0, 50, 75, and 100 ng/mL Shikonin for 72 h. The vehicle control group (0 ng/mL) received 0.01% DMSO. The differentiation of the HL-60 cells was defined as an increase in NBT absorbance at 572 nm. The cells were collected by cytospin centrifugation, stained with either Giemsa (left column) or Hoechst 33258 (right column), and then observed by microscopy (400x). Transcript levels were monitored by real-time PCR analysis and normalized to levels of GAPDH. All data are presented as the mean ± SEM of the samples from three independent experiments. *, ** compared to the control group.
