The novel phospholipase C activator, m-3M3FBS, induces monocytic leukemia cell apoptosis

We investigated the effect of the novel Phospholipase C activator, m-3M3FBS, on the Apoptosis of leukemic cells. m-3M3FBS inhibited the growth of the leukemic cell lines U937 and THP-1, but not primary monocytes. m-3M3FBS induced the Apoptosis of U937 cells, which was accompanied by chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation. Moreover, m-3M3FBS-induced Apoptosis appeared to involve the down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, the up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax, the release of cytochrome c, and Caspase activation. m-3M3FBS-induced Apoptosis of U937 cells was also partly inhibited by BAPTA-AM and EGTA, indicating the involvement of intracellular calcium signaling on the Apoptosis in U937 cells. The results of our study suggest that m-3M3FBS can be developed as a novel anti-leukemic agent.