Grape Seed Extract Kills Leukemia Cells
Purpose: To characterize the functional role of Jurkat cells, immune cells that have been damaged and can no longer repliicate) and other apoptotic pathways (programmed death of damaged cells) in grape seed extract (GSE)-induced apoptosis in human leukemia cells by using pharmacologic and genetic approaches.
In this study, Jurkat cells were treated with various concentrations of GSE for 12 and 24 hours or with 50 µg/mL GSE for various time intervals, after which apoptosis, caspase activation, and cell signaling pathways were evaluated. Parallel studies were done in U937 and HL-60 human leukemia cells.
Exposure of Jurkat cells to GSE resulted in an increase in cell death and caspase activation (plays a role in apoptosis). Furthermore, treatment of Jurkat cells with GSE resulted in marked increase in levels of phospho-JNK (an antibody).
The result of the present study showed that GSE induces cell death in Jurkat cells through a process that involves sustained activation of antibodies, culminating in cell death.
SOURCE: Clinical Cancer Research 15, 140-149, January 1, 2009.