Atractylodes macrocephala polysaccharides induces mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis in glioma C6 cells

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in naturally occurring substances in plant origin that may be used as potential chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents to prevent or slow the progression of chronic illnesses, such as cancer. In this study, we aimed at examining the antitumor activity of Atractylodes macrocephala polysaccharide (AMPs) in vitro using glioma C6 cells and the underlying mechanisms were also investigated. The results demonstrated that AMPs significantly inhibited proliferation of C6 cells in a concentration dependent manner by DNA fragmentation and apoptosis induction. Besides, AMPs treatment induced the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and caused release of cytochrome c to cytosol. Furthermore, the activation of capase-3, caspase-9 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage occurred following AMPs treatment in C6 cells. These results suggested that the induction of apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway was involved in the anti-proliferative activity of AMPs against glioma C6 cells.