PMBPs induce apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells.
(A) A2780 and OV2008 cells were treated with PMBPs (0, 25, 50, 100 μg/ml) for 24 h. The morphological changes of nuclei were examined by fluorescence microscopy using DAPI staining. The arrows indicate nuclear condensation and apoptotic bodies (magnification, 100×). (B) A2780 and OV2008 cells were treated with PMBPs (0, 10, 25, 35, 50 μg/ml) for 24 h. Flow cytometry was applied to analyze Annexin V-FITC/PI double stained A2780 cells. The low right (LR) quadrant of the histograms indicates the early apoptotic cells, and the upper right (UR) quadrant indicates the late apoptotic and necrotic cells. (C) The treatment of A2780 and OV2008 cells with PMBPs resulted in dramatic increase in the percentage of apoptotic and necrotic cells (including early apoptosis, late apoptosis and necrosis). The experiments were repeated three times. **P<0.01 compared to the control group.