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ELF-MF attenuates quercetin-induced apoptosis in K562 cells through modulating the expression of Bcl-2 family proteins

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Abstract

This study investigated the effects of sinusoidal ELF-MF (1 mT; 50 Hz) on the apoptosis induced by four different compounds, namely vinblastine, etoposide, quercetin, and resveratrol, in human K562 chronic myeloid leukemia cells. The exposure to ELF-MF did not affect growth and viability of untreated K562 cells and did not influence the anti-proliferative effects of resveratrol, vinblastine, and etoposide. On the contrary, in quercetin-treated cells, exposure to ELF-MF significantly reduced the percentage of apoptotic cells and the caspase-3 activity and modified the cell cycle profile especially after 48 h of exposure. In addition, the simultaneous treatments for 24 h with quercetin plus ELF-MF increased Bcl-2 protein expression and prevented quercetin-induced downregulation of Mcl-1 and Bcl-xL. Finally, an increase of HSP70 expression was also observed after prolonged ELF-MF treatment. The ELF-MF-dependent modulation of the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family and Hsp70 proteins could act as a pro-survival mechanism in K562 cells.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by a grant from MIUR (Ministero dell‘Istruzione, dell‘Università e della Ricerca), MURST EX 60 %, to Prof. Argante Bozzi and Dr. Fabrizia Brisdelli.

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There was no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Science, University of L’Aquila, Via Vetoio, Coppito 2, 67100, L’Aquila, Italy

    Fabrizia Brisdelli, Francesca Bennato, Argante Bozzi & Roberto Iorio

  2. Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

    Fabrizio Mancini

  3. Department of Health, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

    Benedetta Cinque

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  1. Fabrizia Brisdelli
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  2. Francesca Bennato
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  3. Argante Bozzi
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  4. Benedetta Cinque
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  5. Fabrizio Mancini
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  6. Roberto Iorio
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Correspondence to Fabrizia Brisdelli.

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Brisdelli, F., Bennato, F., Bozzi, A. et al. ELF-MF attenuates quercetin-induced apoptosis in K562 cells through modulating the expression of Bcl-2 family proteins. Mol Cell Biochem 397, 33–43 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-014-2169-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-014-2169-1

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