Gemcitabine inhibits cell growth and induces apoptosis of osteosarcoma cell line MG-63

Objective To investigate the inhibitory effect of gemcitabine on cell growth and the inductive effect on apoptosis of osteosarcoma cell line MG-63.Methods The cultured MG-63 cells were treated with gemcitabine.The morphological changes of MG-63 cells were examined by phase contrast microscope;cell growth rates were assessed by MTT bromide colorimetric assay.The apoptosis of MG-63 cells was measured by flow cytometry(FCM) with Annexin-V-FITC assay and DNA ladder by agarose electrophoresis.Results Gemcitabine significantly inhibited cell growth and the inhibitory effect was in a time-dependent manner evidenced by MTT assay and morphological changes.The apoptotic index measured by FCM increased correspondingly with the concentration of gemcitabine and the reaction time.Treatment of MG-63 with different concentrations of gemcitabine(0,0.1,1.0,10.0,100 mg/L) for 48 h,the apoptotic index was not significantly different(P0.05).DNA ladder was demonstrated on DNA electrophoresis.Conclusion Gemcitabine can significantly inhibit MG-63 cell growth in a time-dependent manner,and it can also induce the apoptosis of MG-63 cells.