Cancer drugs eliminate cancer cells by targeting the biochemical pathways important for cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis. It is known that Plumbagin, a natural product from the <i>Plumbago</i> family and derivative of 1,4-naphthoquinone, induces apoptosis in several types of cancer cells. We have synthesized a library of novel naphthoquinone analogues that exhibit promising cytotoxic effects, as established by MTT assay. In this poster, we aim to disclose the results and protocol for a DNA laddering assay and explore the effects of novel naphthoquinones from our library on programmed cell death.  In this gel electrophoresis based assay, we used DMSO and camptothecin as positive and negative controls. We used two compounds that showed promising cytotoxic effects for this assay and our data suggest that the compounds exhibit apoptotic effects, as evidenced by a DNA ladder. We are also studying if our compounds can disrupt the JAK-STAT pathway similar to Plumbagin. Data from those experiments will also be presented.

Apoptosis induction and the effect of novel naphthoquinone analogues on the JAK-STAT pathway

2019 Spring National Meeting

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