Figure 5.

MPE exerts its cytotoxic action through the mitochondrial release of apoptogenic factors. HT29, Caco-2, and HCT116 colon cancer cells (1.5 × 10⁷) were exposed to MPE treatment for 48 h and then were scraped and submitted to subcellular fractionation, as described in the Materials and Methods section. Thirty micrograms of proteins of each fraction were placed in a polyacrylamide gel and submitted to Western blot analysis. As loading controls for the mitochondrial and cytosolic fractions, COX IV and γ–tubulin were used, respectively. (*) p < 0.05 versus untreated control.