Staurosporine (AM-2282) is a protein kinase inhibitor with ATP-competitive and non-selective inhibitory activity (IC50=6/15/2/3/3000 nM) against PKC, PKA, c-Fgr, phosphorylase kinase and TAOK2. Staurosporine also induces apoptosis.

PKCα:2 nM, PKCη:4 nM, PKCδ:20 nM, PKCγ:5 nM, PKCζ:1086 nM, PKCε:73 nM

METHODS: Human cervical cancer cells HeLa were treated with Staurosporine (1-10 nM) for 72 h, and cell viability was measured by MTT.
RESULTS: Staurosporine inhibited the proliferation of Hela cells in a dose-dependent manner, with an IC50 of about 10 nM. [1]
METHODS: Human pancreatic cancer cells PaTu 8988t and Panc-1 were treated with Staurosporine (1 μM) for 3-24 h, and cell death was detected by Flow Cytometry.
RESULTS: For PaTu 8988t cells, incubation with Staurosporine for 3-24 h significantly increased apoptosis and significantly decreased the number of viable cells; necrosis increased after 6-16 h. For Panc-1 cells, Staurosporine treatment significantly increased apoptosis and significantly decreased the number of viable cells after 9-24 h. The RESULTS were summarized as follows. [2]
METHODS: Human hepatocellular carcinoma cells HepG2 were treated with Staurosporine (20 nmol/L) for 6-24 h. The expression levels of target proteins were detected by Western Blot.
RESULTS: Staurosporine significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of mTOR and increased the expression of LC3-II, an autophagy marker protein, suggesting that Staurosporine activates autophagy effectively by inhibiting mTOR. [3]

METHODS: To assay anti-tumor activity in vivo, Staurosporine (3 mg/kg) and Lapatinib (50 mg/kg) were administered by gavage twice a week for two weeks to Nu/J-Foxn1 Nu/Nu mice harboring human mammary carcinoma tumors JIMT-1.
RESULTS: The combination of Staurosporine and Lapatinib inhibited tumor growth in a statistically significant manner. [4]
METHODS: To examine the effects on islet β-cell function, Staurosporine (0.4 mg/kg in 0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose) was administered intraperitoneally to iPLA2β-/- C57BL6 mice once daily for two weeks. for two weeks.
RESULTS: Staurosporine impairs glucose tolerance and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in pancreatic islets. [5]

Enzyme assay and binding assay: Protein kinase C is assayed in a reaction mixture (0.25 mL) containing 5 μmol of Tris/HCl, pH 7.5, 2.5 μmol of magnesium acetate, 50 μg of histone II S, 20 μg of phosphatidylserine, 0.88 μg of diolein, 125 nmol of CaCl2, 1.25 nmol of [γ-32]ATP (5-10 × 104 cpm/nmol) and 5 μg of partially purified enzyme. The binding of [3H]PDBu to protein kinase C is determined: Reaction mixture (200 μL contained 4 μmo1 of Tris/malate, pH 6.8, 20 μmol of KCl, 30 nmol of CaC12, 20 μg of phosphatidylserine, 5 μg of partially purified protein kinase C, 0.5% (final concentration) of DMSO,10 pmol of [3H]PDBu (l-3 × 104 cpm/pmol) and 10 μL of various amounts of Staurosporine.

Cells are exposed to Staurosporine for ~32 hours. Cells are fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and stained with the DNA-binding dye Hoechst 33342. Cells are visualized under epifluorescence illumination, and the percentage of apoptotic cells (cells with condensed and fragmented DNA) is determined. (Only for Reference)