Induce apoptosis of buckwheat trypsin inhibitor on acute myeloid leukemia cells

The possible effects of a recombinant buckwheat trypsin inhibitor (rBTI) on the induction of apoptosis of the human HL-60 cell line (acute myeloid leukemia cells) were investigated. Apoptosis of the HL-60 cell fine induced by rBTI was identified by MTT (3-[4, 5- dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assays, DNA fragmentation and electrophoresis, flow cytometric analysis and morphological observation of nuclei. The results showed that rBTI could specifically inhibit the growth of human acute myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells at a low concentration (12.5-100 mu g/ml) of rBTI in a dose-dependent manner, but there were minimal effects on normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The results indicated that rBTI can induce apoptosis of HL-60 cells and that it might be a potential protein drug.