Xihuang pills induce apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma by suppressing phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase-B/mechanistic target of rapamycin pathway

Figure 3 SMMC-7721 cell apoptosis is induced by Xihuang pills extract. SMMC-7721 cells were stained with annexin V/propidium iodide and fluorescein isothiocyanate after treatment with or without 0.625 mg/mL Xihuang pills (XHP) extract for 12 h. A and B: Flow cytometry was used to detect the number of apoptotic cells (A) and the cell cycle distribution (B); C: Cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9 protein expression levels were detected by Western blotting, and caspase-3 and caspase-9 mRNA expression levels were detected by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT–qPCR); D: After treating SMMC-7721 cells with different concentrations of the XHP extract, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9 protein expression levels were determined using Western blotting, whereas caspase-3 and caspase-9 mRNA expression levels were determined using RT–qPCR. The experiment was repeated three times, and the data are presented as the means ± SD. ^aP < 0.05 and ^bP < 0.01 compared with the control group; ^cP < 0.05 and ^dP < 0.01 compared with the XHP 0.625 group; ^eP < 0.05 and ^fP < 0.01 compared with the XHP 1.25 group.