Effect of Arsenic Trioxide on the Human Ovarian Cancer Cell Line SKOV3

Objective To examine the effect of arsenic trioxide(As 2O 3)on cell proliferation and cell cycle arrest in the human ovarian carcinoma cell line SKOV3. Methods The SKOV3 cells were cultured in RPMI1640 with different concentration of As 2O 3, and harvested in different cultured time. Methyl thiazolyl tetrozolium(MTT) was used to establish the dose-effect curves. Inverted microscope and transmission electron microscope were used to examine the morphologic changes of SKOV3 cells, and cell cycles and apoptosis were examined by flow cytometry (FCM).Results As 2O 3 could significantly inhibit SKOV3 cells proliferation with a time-and dose-dependent fashion. The SKOV3 cells could be arrested significantly at G 2/M phase by As 2O 3.There were typical apoptotic changes in each group under inverted microscope and transmission electron microscope.Conclusion As 2O 3 could obviously inhibit the proliferation of SKOV3 cells through inducing apoptosis and S 、G 2/M arrest.