Dichloromethane fraction of Melissa officinalis induces apoptosis by activation of intrinsic and extrinsic pathways in human leukemia cell lines.

Various components from medicinal plants are currently used in cancer therapy because of their apoptosis-inducing effects. The present study has aimed to investigate the growth inhibitory and apoptotic effects of Melissa officinalis on tumor cells. We prepared different fractions of this plant to investigate their inhibitory effects on two leukemia cell lines, Jurkat and K562. Fractions with the highest inhibitory effects were examined for induction of apoptosis by the annexin V/propidium iodide assay and cell cycle changes by flow cytometry. Real-time polymerase chain reaction evaluated the changes in expression of apoptosis-related genes. Among different fractions, dichloromethane and n-hexane dose-dependent showed the strongest inhibitory effects on both K562 and Jurkat cells. The dichloromethane fraction significantly induced apoptosis at concentration of 50 µg/ml on Jurkat (85.66 ± 4.9%) and K562 cells (65.04 ± 0.93%) at 24 h after treatment (p < 0.002). According to cell cycle analysis, more than 70% of the cells accumulated in the sub-G1 phase when cultured in the presence of the dichloromethane fraction. This fraction up-regulated Fas and Bax mRNA expression as well as the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio according to cell type, showing its effect on the activation of both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways of apoptosis. The expression of apoptosis-related genes did not significantly change following treatment with the n-hexane fraction. These data indicated that the dichloromethane fraction of M. officinalis had the ability to induce apoptosis and change apoptosis-related gene expression in leukemia cells.