Solanine inhibits proliferation and promotes apoptosis of the human leukemia cells by targeting the miR-16/Bcl-2 axis.

PURPOSE Leukemia causes tremendous human mortality especially in children and young adults. This study was undertaken to investigate the anticancer effects of Solanine against the normal human NCI-H526 and human leukemia AML-193 cell lines. METHODS Cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay. DAPI and annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) assays were used for the determination of apoptosis. The expression analysis was done by qRT-PCR. Protein concentrations were determined by western blot analysis. RESULTS DAPI staining showed that Solanine causes nuclear morphological changes. The annexin V/PI staining showed that Solanine increased the leukemia apoptotic cell death dose-dependently. The expression of Bax was increased while of Bcl-2 was decreased. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that microRNA (miR)-16 was significantly (p<0.05) downregulated in leukemia AML-193 cells as compared to normal NCI-H526 cells. CONCLUSION Taken together, these results showed that Solanine inhibits the proliferation of leukemia cells via induction of apoptosis and modulation of miR-16/Bcl-2 axis.