Journal of

  Abstract

 Background and Objectives

 Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a neoplastic disorder and a common malignancy in children. Apoptosis is a normal physiological process which occurs during the maintenance of tissue hemostasis. The defect in this process leads to the development of cancer. It can be induced by a variety of treatments, such as cytotoxic chemotherapy. Hesperetin, a flavonoid isolated from the red fruits, has been examined with regard to the inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis in pancreatic cells. Hesperetin also activates NOTCH-1 and tumor suppressor in carcinoid tumor.

 Materials and Methods

 In this fundamental-applied research, the cell lines of C121 (Jurkat cell) were cultured in RPMI supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and Penicilin/streptomycin. The growth and survival of cells with various concentrations of hesperetin was evaluated by MTS kit. The amount of cell death by trypan blue staining and flow cytometry as well as by apoptosis kit (Partec) was examined.

 Results

 Lymphoblastic cell lines (C121) in exposure to different concentrations of hesperetin were affected and ΜM 200 drug concentration at 48 hours was reported as inhibitory concentration or IC50. The mode of cell death induced by hesperetin was found to be apoptosis, as judged by the morphologic alteration of the cells and by Anexin v conjugated with FITC and flow cytometric analysis.

 Conclusions

 Since hesperetin can induce apoptosis and reduce cell activity, it seems appropriate to be able to inhibit the growth of tumor cells.