Fig. 1

Triptolide showed potent anti-HCC activity both in vitro and in vivo. a Treatment of HepG2 and Hep3B cells with triptolide for 24 and 48 h showed a significant decrease in cell proliferation. The bars represent mean ± standard error of the mean, n ≥ 3. P*<.05, **P<.01 (t test). b Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the treatment with triptolide for 48 h significantly increased Annexin V staining in HepG2 and Hep3B cells. c and d Western blot showed the treatment of triptolide for 24 h induced the activation of some apoptotic markers and altered the expression and phosphorylation of some key regulators of apoptosis and cell growth in HepG2 and Hep3B cells. e The in vivo imaging of implanted tumors was performed to monitor the growth of xenografts. Representative imaging (left panel) and the photographs of corresponding tumors dissected from nude mice (right panel) indicated that triptolide significantly reduced tumor volume. f Representative TUNEL assays showed a significant induction of apoptosis in triptolide-treated group compared with DMSO-treated group (original magnification 400×)