Bufalin

Bufalin, is a cardiotonic steroid originally isolated from the Chinese toad venom. Experiments have shown Bufalin to have demonstrated apoptotic and cell differentiation inducing properties in U-937 cells through activation of AP-1 via a mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade. In conjunction, research has shown Bufalin to be an inhibitor of Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase which causes downregulation of mRNA transcripts encoding several isoforms of 14-3-3 gene. 14-3-3 proteins are multifunctional regulatory proteins, and the reduction in the abundance of various isoforms has been shown to have profound effects on cell function. Other studies have noted an enhancement of retinoic acid-induced differentiation of HL-60 cells in primary culture.