Figure 7. Possible mechanisms of gossypol-induced cell apoptosis in human retinoblastoma (Y79) cells. Gossypol may use several pathways leading to the death of Y79 cells, including activating death receptors (DR5), caspase 8, and caspase 3; upregulating mitochondria permeability, thereby causing the release of cytochrome C; and activating the Smac pathway. In addition, p53 was found upregulated after gossypol treatment, suggesting that DNA degradation is another effect of gossypol. Solid lines with arrows in the figure represent simulative effects, and the dotted lines represent translocation.