Apoptosis gene network regulated by delta-tocotrienol in K562 chronic myeloid leukaemia cells

Palm oil is rich in various health-beneficial phytonutrients. The Vitamin E and the carotenoids make up a large portion of these phytonutrients. The tocotrienols are a relatively newer class of Vitamin E isoforms that are actively being researched for its various health promoting properties. In this study, the anti-cancer properties of the delta-tocotrienol (δ-T3) isoform were investigated on a leukemic cell line. A preliminary cytotoxicity assay was carried out to identify δ-T3's potency in inducing cell death. Following this a real time-based gene array experiment was carried out to distinguish the apoptosis genes regulated by δ-T3 in the K562 leukemic cell line. Results show that treatment with δ-T3 significant regulated the expression of several genes that promote apoptosis such as TP53, TP73, HRK, MCL1, CASP7, CASP8, DAPK1, PYCARD, FASLG and TNFRSF9. These findings suggest that palm δ-T3 can exert anti-cancer activities in chronic myeloid leukemic cells.