Suboj, PriyaBabykutty, SubojSrinivas, PriyaGopala, Srinivas2012-12-042012-12-042012PHARMACOLOGY. 89; 40910; 91-98http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000335659https://dspace.sctimst.ac.in/handle/123456789/90Aloe emodin (AE), a natural anthraquinone, is reported to have antiproliferative activity in various cancer cell lines. In this study, we analyzed the molecular mechanisms involved in the growth-inhibitory activity of this hydroxyanthraquinone in colon cancer cell, WiDr. In our observation AE inhibited cell proliferation by arresting the cell cycle at the G2/M phase and inhibiting cyclin B1. AE appreciably induced cell death specifically through the induction of apoptosis and by activating caspases 9/6. Apoptotic execution was found to be solely dependent on caspase-6 rather than caspase-3 or caspase-7. This is the first study indicating that the AE induces apoptosis specifically through the activation of caspase-6. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, BaselBiochemistry