INDUCTION OF APOPTOSIS IN CERVIX NEOPLASMS HeLa CELLS BY A RAPESEED PEPTIDE HYDROLYSATE FRACTION

One rapeseed peptide fraction (RSP2) was prepared from rapeseed meal by enzyme digestion and separation on Sephadex gel-filtration column. The anticancer effects of RSP2 on human cervical HeLa cell lines were evaluated. Exposure of RSP2 caused a significant decrease in viability of HeLa cells in a dose-dependent manner and typical morphological changes and apoptosis bleb phenomenon in RSP2-treated HeLa cells were observed. DNA fragmentation assay and single-cell gel electrophoresis showed that RSP2 could induce apoptosis in HeLa cells at all concentrations tested in a dose-dependent manner. Together with our recently published data that RSP2 could decrease the percentage of HeLa cells in the G(0)/G(1) phase from 55% to 43%, and increase the ratio of apoptotic cells from 2.9 to 40%, results of this study highlighted the candidacy of RSP2 as a novel source of biologically active peptides with an inhibiting effect on human cancer cells.