Apoptosis induction by Epican Forte in HTLV-1 positive and negative malignant T-cells

The effects of a novel nutrient formulation Epican Forte (EF) were evaluated on proliferation and induction of apoptosis using non-cytotoxic concentrations against HTLV-1 positive (HuT-102 & C91-PL) and negative (CEM & Jurkat) cells.EF showed anti-proliferative effect as determined by MTT assay and TGF mRNA protein expression using RT-PCR. EF resulted in the down-regulation of TGF-α and an up-regulation in TGF-β2.EF caused a significant increase in apoptotic cells in the preG1 phase. These results were confirmed using Cell Death ELISA and Annexin V-FITC. Induction of apoptosis was caused by an up-regulation of p53, p21 and Bax protein levels and a down-regulation of Bcl-2α protein expression level.