Fig. 5.

Effect of apigenin on Ku70–Bax interaction in human prostate cancer cells. a Effect of apigenin on the protein expression of Bax and Ku70 in PC-3 cells. The cells were treated with specified dose of apigenin for 24 h and Western blotting was performed. Dose-dependent increase in protein expression of Bax and Ku70 was observed in these cells. β-actin was used as loading control. Numeric values represent the protein level normalized to the loading control (β-actin). b Effect of apigenin on Ku70 acetylation and release of Bax from Ku70–Bax complex in PC-3 cells. The cells were treated with IgG, 20 μM apigenin and 80nM HDAC inhibitor, trichostatin A (TSA) for 24 h and subjected to immunoprecipitation using Ku70 antibody. Western blotting was performed with acetylated lysine and Bax. A significant increase in Ku70 acetylation was observed after apigenin and TSA treatment with simultaneous decrease in Bax from the Ku70–Bax complex. c Schematic presentation of the effect of apigenin on Ku70 acetylation and disruption of Ku70–Bax complex releasing Bax to initiate apoptosis in PC-3 cells. Details are described in “Materials and methods” section