Eugenol isolated from the essential oil of Eugenia caryophyllata induces a reactive oxygen species-mediated apoptosis in HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells

Yoo, Chae-Bin; Han, Ki-Tae; Cho, Kyu-Seok; Ha, Joohun; Park, Hee-Juhn; Nam, Jung-Hwan; Kil, Uk-Hyun; Lee, Kyung-Tae

doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2004.11.018

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Volume 225, Issue 1 , Pages 41-52, 8 July 2005

Eugenol isolated from the essential oil of Eugenia caryophyllata induces a reactive oxygen species-mediated apoptosis in HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells

Chae-Bin Yoo
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Pharmacy, Kyung-Hee University, Hoegi-Dong, Dongdaemun-Ku, Seoul 130-701, South Korea
Ki-Tae Han
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Pharmacy, Kyung-Hee University, Hoegi-Dong, Dongdaemun-Ku, Seoul 130-701, South Korea
Kyu-Seok Cho
- College of Medicine, Kyung-Hee University, Hoegi-Dong, Dongdaemun-Ku, Seoul 130-701, South Korea
Joohun Ha
- College of Medicine, Kyung-Hee University, Hoegi-Dong, Dongdaemun-Ku, Seoul 130-701, South Korea
Hee-Juhn Park
- Division of Applied Plant Sciences, Sangji University, Woosan-Dong, Wonju 220-702, South Korea
Jung-Hwan Nam
- Division of Applied Plant Sciences, Sangji University, Woosan-Dong, Wonju 220-702, South Korea
Uk-Hyun Kil
- College of Medicine,The Catholic University of Korea, Banpo-Dong, Seoul 608-736, South Korea
Kyung-Tae Lee
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Pharmacy, Kyung-Hee University, Hoegi-Dong, Dongdaemun-Ku, Seoul 130-701, South Korea
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 2 9610860; fax: +82 2 9663885.

Received 30 June 2004; received in revised form 7 October 2004; accepted 1 November 2004.

Abstract

Eugenol is a major component of essential oil isolated from the Eugenia caryophyllata (Myrtaceae), which has been widely used as a herbal drug. In this study, we investigated the effects of eugenol on the cytotoxicity, induction of apoptosis, and the putative pathways of its actions in human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60) under the standard laboratory illumination. Eugenol-treated HL-60 cells displayed features of apoptosis including DNA fragmentation and formation of DNA ladders in agarose gel electrophoresis. We observed that eugenol transduced the apoptotic signal via ROS generation, thereby inducing mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT), reducing anti-apoptotic protein bcl-2 level, inducing cytochrome c release to the cytosol, and subsequent apoptotic cell death. Taken together, the present study demonstrated that ROS plays a critical role in eugenol-induced apoptosis in HL-60, and this is the first report on the mechanism of the anticancer effect of eugenol.

Keywords: Eugenol, Apoptosis, ROS, Mitochondrial permeability transition, Glutathione