Discrepancy between the effects of morronside on apoptosis in human embryonic lung fibroblast cells and lung cancer A549 cells.

Morroniside is a water-soluble compound extracted from the fruit of Cornus officinalis and is used to protect lung activity against aging. In the present study, the manner in which morroniside regulates normal lung and cancer cells was examined. The human embryonic lung fibroblast (HELF) cell line and lung cancer A549 cell line, and their responses to morroniside treatment, were examined. Results showed that morroniside reverses the apoptotic effect of H2O2 on HELF cell growth, protecting cell proliferation and normal cell morphology and inhibiting apoptosis. However, these effects were not present in A549 cells. Western blotting showed that morroniside also markedly downregulated retinoblastoma protein in HELF cells. These results suggest that morroniside treatment exhibits different effects on apoptosis in HELF and A549 cells, making it a viable compound for decreasing the side effects of anticancer medicines in normal cells.