Investigation of Cytotoxic and Apoptotic Effects of Styrax Liquidus Obtained From Liquidambar orientalis Miller (Hamamelidaceae) on HEp-2 Cancer Cell with Caspase Pathway.

Objective: The HEp-2 cell line was first identified as laryngeal cancer cells. Then, it was reported to consist of cervical adenocarcinoma cells derived via HeLa cell line contamination. Styrax liquidus is an exudate that is provided by the injured hull of the Liquidambar orientalis Miller (Hamamelidaceae), which has been used for the treatment of skin problems, peptic ulcers, and parasitic infections or as an antiseptic. In our study, we purposed to research the cytotoxic and apoptotic effect of styrax liquidus on HEp-2 cancer cell line.

Materials and methods: The IC50 dosage of styrax liquidus (Turkish sweet gum obtained from trees) was set by the (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay, and the apoptotic effect of styrax liquidus on HEp-2 cancer cell was determined by assessing the expression of genes involved in apoptosis (Bax, Bad, Bak1, p53, Bcl-2, Bcl-XL, Apaf-1, Caspase2, Caspase3a, Caspase9, and Caspase12) by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Results: The IC50 value of styrax liquidus was found to be 125 μg/mL for 48 hours. According to the results, styrax liquidus reduced the population of HEp-2 laryngeal cancer cells and increased the expression of genes which were apoptosis related. These results indicate that styrax liquidus can be thought as a choice of cancer therapy.

Conclusion: The finding of the study showed that it would be more useful to perform more qualified studies about the effect of styrax liquidus on cancer cells.