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. 2011 Mar 8;6(3):e16781. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016781

Figure 4. Induction of caspases activities by icaritin.

Figure 4

(A) Hec1A cells were treated with the indicated icaritin concentration or the indicated time points, total cellular extracts were prepared and subjected to Western blot assay to measure levels of cleaved-caspase-3 and cleaved-caspase-9. Protein levels of β-actin were also measured as controls. (B) Hec1A cells were treated with the indicated icaritin concentration or the indicated time points, total cellular extracts were prepared and subjected to Western blot assay using antibodies against PARP. Protein levels of β-actin were also measured as controls. (C) Hec1A cells were fixed and labeled for cytochrome c (red) and DNA (blue). (D) Hec1A cells were pretreated with 10 µM of z-VAD-fmk for 1 h, followed with 10 µM icaritin for 24 h, and DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 activity were determined. The data are expressed as mean ± SEM of three separate experiments. *, P<0.05 compared to control cells. (E) Hec1A cells were pretreated with 10 µM of z-VAD-fmk for 1 h, followed with 10 µM icaritin for 24 h. Protein extracts were prepared and subjected to Western blot assay using antibody against PARP. Protein levels of β-actin were also measured as controls.