Experimental study on inhibitory effect of arsenic trioxide on colon cancer cells

Objective To observe inhibitory effect of Arsenic trioxide (As 2O 3) on colon cancer cells.Method LoVo cell lines were exposed in vitro to different concentrations of As 2O 3 for various lengths of time,cell growth was assayed by MTT method.Morphological change and cycle phase distribution were measured by TdT mediated and labeling of DNA and FCM.Results MTT showed As 2O 3 inhibited LoVo cell proliferation and this effect was time and dose dependent. Morphological observa tion indicated that As 2O 3 induced LoVo cell death characterized by apoptotic phenotype.Lower concentration of As 2O 3 perturbed cell progressing through S/G 2 phase.While higher concentration induced S phase cell apoptosis selectively.Conclusion Induction of apoptosis contributed to the mechanisms for inhibitory effect of As 2O 3 on colon cancer cells and this effect demonstrated cell cycle specificity.These knowledge may be helpful to design reasonable chemotherapeutic regimen.\;